


Kyoshi Academy

by potatopotato15



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Strangers to Lovers, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:20:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 170,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26236315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potatopotato15/pseuds/potatopotato15
Summary: Boarding School AU that takes place in the UK. Asami is a teacher, and Korra is a student.
Relationships: Bolin/Opal (Avatar), Korra/Asami Sato
Comments: 342
Kudos: 690





	1. Chapter 1

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 1  
\--  
Korra's POV

The car tires crunch to a halt on the gravel driveway, stopping before a beautifully arched black and gold gate from the Victorian era. I saw several with a similar design on my tour around London; one given to me by the very butler who drives the car now.

The gate swings open slowly, and we edge forward. The driveway is long and wide, and leads up to a temple, if I am not mistaken. The butler Aiwei informed me that two hundred years ago the nuns used to live here before it was transformed into a boarding school that now houses and teaches over eight hundred girls from year seven to twelve.

Kyoshi Academy is one of the most famous, expensive, highest achieving, and hardest to get into schools in the country. However, because of my godfather's well-known name and wealth, an exception was made. The school would love to be able to say that Bolin Earth's goddaughter attended the school. Even if it's for my last year. It did help that I'm a straight-A student, hardly ever dipping below 90%. I have my mother to thank for that…

As we drive slowly up towards the school, I marvel at how truly massive it is, and how beautiful. On either side of the driveway, perfectly cut grass extends, a beautiful lawn on either side. Rose gardens can be seen about fifty meters away on the left side, and two gardeners straighten and turn to look at us before waving. On the right, hedges stand tall, and I wonder what's behind them. Probably an orchid or something.

By the time I look forward again we've reached the front of the building and Aiwei pulls into a parking bay. I see that two women have arrived and are standing in front of what I assume is the entrance, where two massive wooden doors are open. One of the women is elderly, her hair grey and white, but neatly pulled back into an elegant bun. Everything about her screams posh and neat and well-spoken. She wears a black dress along with a black shawl, and something tells me she's the principal. The woman next to her is younger, probably in her forties, with long brown hair and glasses. She's wearing a suit, and everything about her tells me she's probably the school's counselor or psychologist... I'll probably be forced to see her quite often.

"The woman wearing the dress is the Principal, Mrs. Hou-Ting," Aiwei says to me over his shoulder, confirming my theory. He gets out of the car and makes his way to the trunk. I get out of the car as well, however I carefully and cautiously make my way over to the two women.

"Good afternoon," I greet them respectfully.

"Hello Miss Waters, my name is Mrs. Hou-Ting, I'll be your principal," she greets me, her eyes boring into me as if she was trying to read my thoughts and dig into my soul, her voice heavy with pretentiousness and dripping with that wealthy British accent. However, she does smile. I can see that she aged well, and her eyes hold wisdom and attentiveness.

"Hello Korra," the other woman says smiling kindly, stepping forward and extending a hand, which I shake, "My name is Mrs. Moon, I'm the school's psychologist."

Aiwei walks up next to me, a suitcase in each hand and my shoulder bag over his shoulder. "Where should I put these Misses?" He asks Principal Hou-Ting.

"You can leave them right here, I'll have two girls bring them up to your room," she says dismissively, and Aiwei sets them down and hands me my shoulder bag. Just on cue, two young girls wearing the school uniform come through the front doors. They look young, probably 8th grade. They each take a suitcase and take them inside. I raise an eyebrow. Alright then.

"I will pick you up at the end of the term Miss," Aiwei says to me with a small smile, which I return.

"Thank you, Aiwei," I say, and he nods once before returning to the car.

"If you'll follow me inside," Principal Hou-Ting says, turning on her heels and walking briskly back inside, Mrs. Moon following me.

Behind me I hear the Bentley pulling out of the parking space, crunching the gravel, and once inside I hear the doors shutting behind us. In front of us, I see the receptionist, a sweet-looking elderly lady, perched behind what must be the reception desk. On either side of the large desk are two open doors, of which I can see a large courtyard with two double story buildings on either side. I assume this is where most of the classrooms are.

"Mrs. Kanna, please book Miss Korra Waters in, she has just arrived," The Principal says, addressing the receptionist.

"Alright," she says, turning to her computer and typing really fast for an old lady, she looks at me over her glasses as she does so and gives me a warm grandmotherly smile, "Hello Korra dear, glad to have you joining us."

"As you can see, this is our reception and our Receptionist. If you have any inquiries about exams, timetables, or any school activities you may ask Mrs. Kanna," Hou-Ting says before walking to the right and through one of the large arched doorways leading to the courtyard. I notice a large statue of Kyoshi, the founder of the academy, standing in a grand fountain in the center of the courtyard.

"Here is the courtyard, on either side are eight classrooms, four on the bottom floor and four on the top," she goes on, "on the left you will find the two English classrooms, L1 and L2 next to the Spanish classroom, L3, and the French Classroom, L4. Above is the Italian classroom, L5, and the German classroom, L6, next to which is the Mandarin classroom, L7, and the Latin classroom, L8."

I notice that between the two bottom classrooms in the middle is a stairwell. The classrooms are large from what I can tell, which explains why the courtyard stretches on.

"On the right at the bottom, you will find the mathematics classrooms, L9 and L10, and next to them are the computer laboratories, C1 and C2. Above them are the History Classrooms, L11 and L12, the geography classroom L13, and finally the sociology classroom, L14," as she speaks, we walk briskly through the courtyard. I hear a lot of pride in her tone as she speaks about the school. I try extremely hard to memorize everything she says, I really don't want to get lost on my first day and end up being late. We reach the end of the courtyard and I realize there's one last classroom at the end, well not really a classroom, it looks more like a studio. On either side are high archways that lead outside the courtyard, although I haven't yet caught a glimpse of where they lead. Hou-Ting leads us to the classroom door and knocks.

"This is the art studio, S1," she says over her shoulder. The door is opened by a rather good-looking man who must be in his early thirties. If I were into men, I'd probably want to take art, but even so, I acknowledge his attractiveness.

"Principal Hou-Ting, good afternoon," he greets and opens the door wider and steps to the side to let us in.

"Good afternoon Mister Fire, I won't bother your class too long," she says stepping inside and I follow. It is an impressive studio, and about 15 girls, who must be a year or two younger than I am turn to look at me, all sitting in front of pieces of art, wearing aprons with their hair tied up and paintbrushes in their hands. I feel slightly nervous about being the center of attention.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Hou-Ting," they greet in respectful unison.

"Good afternoon girls," Mrs. Hou-Ting greets in return," this is Korra, I can't remember if you will be doing art or not, Korra?"

"Umm… oh yes Mrs. Hou-Ting, I will be taking art," I say, feeling a bit red, not expecting the question.

"Ah wonderful, what year are you in?" Mr. Fire asks me.

"12th, final year," I say.

"I'll be seeing you tomorrow then," he says with a smile. I feel relieved that at least I've met one of my teachers and he seems to be very nice.

"Alright girls, back to your work," Mrs. Hou-Ting orders and they listen, some throwing final glances at me.

"Thank you, Mr. Fire," Hou-Ting says to the art teacher. He nods in response as we leave.

The Principal leads us through one of the large stone archways leading out of the courtyard. In front of us on top of a large hill, I see several large buildings, most of which resemble mansions, and I assume those are where the dorms are. This truly is a massive school.

I tear my eyes away from the buildings and follow Mrs. Hou-Ting down a side stone path to the left. Next to the courtyard walls, there are several massive trees, under which are scattered concrete tables. A few girls who must be my age and therefore in my grade are seated at a few, all with books in front of them. Some are studying while others are talking to each other. All however stop and look at us, well me. I notice some whispering going on as they stare, and even the girls with their backs turned to look over their shoulders. I can't blame them, the school year started two weeks ago. Plus, it must be strange getting a new student in grade 12, hardly any schools accept that.

"This is where some of the girls like to study in their free time in the summer and on warmer days," The Principal says, and I see that we're walking towards another large building. We enter and I see hundreds of rows of eating tables and chairs.

Mrs. Hou-Ting shows me the rest of the school, on the other side of the courtyard, there's another block of classrooms, where there are the labs for physics, biology, and chemistry along with the theory classes for those sciences. Next to that block, there are even more classrooms for business, economics, and psychology. She then takes me to the dorms and on the way we pass a massive library on the right, which she says has the literature classrooms in it, and a large seminar room which she says is used as a study center and an exam room during exam times.

There are four mansions, one is for the grade 7th and 8th, the next one is for the grade 9th and 10th, the third is for the grade 11th which is noticeably smaller than the other two, and finally, the last one is for the grade 12th, which is the same size as the grade 11th's house. She explains there is a common room in each, but only the grade 12th has a kitchen. The younger girls are not allowed within our house; however, we are allowed in theirs if needed. There is a head of house for each mansion and in the grade 10th, 11th and 12th also two prefects. They have privileges and have the right to correct you if you are breaking the school rules and are allowed to report you and give warnings if there are vulgar language and disrespect. There is also a female teacher assigned to each house. Ours is the English and English Literature teacher, Miss Sato.

There are sports fields and courts further behind the dorm houses too, along with two Olympic length pools and a gymnasium. The teachers sleeping quarters are back in the main building in the right-wing, where the original nunnery used to be, and some other teachers who don't mind waking up early and driving to school have houses nearby town.

We then return to the main building and enter the left-wing, where downstairs Principal Hou-Ting's office is and upstairs where Mrs. Moon's office is.

"Here is your timetable," Mrs. Hou-Ting says, handing me a piece of paper over her desk along with several others, "among those papers, you'll also find the code of conduct, which I would like you to read and sign and then return to Mrs. Kanna at reception, there is also a list of school events and activities you can sign up for. Any further questions?"

"Not right now, Misses," I say, taking the papers.

"Good. You will start tomorrow. I've sent for a girl in your house to come to get you and show you to your room, she will explain anything I haven't," she says, and I get the hint that she's just dismissed me.

"Thank you, Misses," I say standing and she gives me a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. I leave her office and close the door behind me and make my way back to the reception. When I get there, I notice two girls talking to Mrs. Kanna, and a third one, who looks about my age except really skinny with beautifully braided brown hair and very pale skin. The brunette notices me and immediately smiles and skips over.

"Hi! You must be Korra! I'm Ty Lee," she says chirpily, extending a dainty hand which I shake with care.

"Yeah… Nice to meet you," I say, slightly scared by this girl's enthusiasm.

"I'm in your grade, I've been sent to show you to your room! Come let's go!" She says and skips towards the courtyard through the door. I follow.

"So where do you come from?" She asks as we walk through the courtyard. The final class must've just finished because there are at least 100 girls milling about in the courtyard or walking slowly in pairs or groups towards the exit. Even more, students are coming down the stairways or filing out the classrooms. A lot of them turn to stare at me and I catch a few pointing out of the corner of my eye, but I ignore them.

"Um well I moved to London about two weeks ago from Cape Town," I say, remembering Ty Lee just asked me a question.

"Oh my god, so you're South African?" She asks, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Yeah, but I was born in London so technically I'm British," I say, distractedly looking around at all the different female faces. This is the first time I've been to a school without boys and it already feels weird and wrong.

"Oh really? And how long did you live in Cape Town?" She asks, she's a very curious person.

"16 years and a bit, I guess… I moved there when I was 1," I say. By now we're nearly at the end of the courtyard, and I have to say I'm kind of grateful. There are a lot of girls here eyeing me out, and I don't mean that in a sexual way, so I'm starting to feel self-conscious.

Suddenly an auburn-haired girl comes running to us and skids to a halt. She's got blue eyes and shoulder-length hair, with pale skin.

"Hey Ty Lee," she addresses Ty Lee before turning to me, "Who's this?"

"This is Korra, a new girl! She's in my grade," Ty Lee introduces me before I have a chance to.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Suki," the redhaired says, throwing out a hand.

"Hey," I say, shaking her hand.

"So how come you're only joining two weeks into the year?" She asks as we start walking again, exiting the courtyard.

"Uhm… I had to sort out some things," I say, keeping it vague. I don't really like discussing my personal life, especially if it's to girls I just met.

"Oh okay," she says, thankfully not pushing.

"What grade are you in?" I ask Suki, deciding to ask the question for once.

"I'm in year 11," she says with a sigh, "but I'm only really friends with the final years."

"Yeah, the grade 11th girls are pretty mean," Ty Lee says and Suki nods.

"Oh, do you mind Korra if we make a stop by the library? I need to drop off a book," Ty Lee asks.

"No, I don't mind," I say and the three of us peel off from the main path onto a smaller one, which leads us to the library.

"Are there any girls I should avoid or wary of?" I ask as we walk.

"Uhh well there's P'Li, Ginger, and Ming-Hua, they're all in my grade though. They're these really pretty girls and they think they're better than the rest of us in our house, and it's even worse than Ginger is the head girl, and Ming-Hua and P'Li are both prefects… They can be really bitchy," Suki says.

"I guess there's also Azula and her squad in our house… they're the most popular girls in school… they do this really horrible thing where they adopt a grade 8 into their group and make them do stuff for them like carrying their books or fetching stuff for them, and then they bully her… oh and if you sit in their corner in our common room or at their table in the eating hall they can be real bullies," Ty Lee says, and she seems to talk out of the experience, like they had bullied her before.

"Damn… they sound like they belong in Mean Girls," I say and Suki chuckles.

"Oh, and there's Kuvira, Kori and June and some other girls in their group, they're the smokers and they often sneak weed and alcohol to school… but no one dares tell on them because they're pretty scary…" Ty Lee adds. I raise my eyebrow.

"Yeah, they're pretty scary, they'll beat you up and get away with it if you mess with them… you'll see what we mean when you see them," Suki adds. By now we've reached the library and Suki opens the door for us and we step in. It's a very beautiful library, incredibly big as well.

Ty Lee leads the way through shelves of books until we reach a classroom, and I assume this is the literature classroom. We enter the already opened door and I notice a teacher behind a desk. She's standing, bent over, and searching through a draw in her desk. She looks young, with long raven wavy hair cascading over her face.

"Hi, Miss Sato!" Ty Lee says, skipping towards the desk across the classroom. Miss Sato looks up, and my heart skips a beat for a second at the sight of her. She most definitely is one of the most beautiful women I have ever laid my eyes on. Light green eyes, flawless skin, striking jawline, and the most breathtaking white smile I've ever seen.

"Hi, Miss Sato!" Suki also says excitedly, moving past me. Both Ty Lee and Suki seems pretty delighted to see her, so I must assume she's a very nice teacher… probably because she's so young and the girls feel they can trust her, and they all want to be her favorite.

"Hello Ty Lee, hello Suki," she says with that beautiful smile, straightening.

"I just came to return the book you suggested to me," Ty Lee says, handing her the book, which she takes with delicate fingers," and also came to say hi because I haven't had your class today!"

Someone is being a kiss ass… someone clearly wants to be a favorite, I think to myself.

"And I just came to say hi!" Suki says, Suki too?

"Oh, you girls are so sweet, thank you for the wonderful surprise!" She says laughing, and I can't help but notice how incredible her laugh sounds… who even laughs that attractively? Her eyes move from the two girls in front of her to me, and I feel nervous all of a sudden. She noticed me. My heartbeat quickens.

"And who are you?" She asks.

"She's new, her name is Korra, she's in our house!" Ty Lee informs her, again before I can.

"Ahh, Korra! The name I've been seeing on my register for Year 12 English and English Literature," she says making her way around the desk. I walk forward to meet her, not wanting to look like a dumb statue.

"Hello Miss Sato, it's nice to meet you," I say, extending a hand which she takes. Her skin is soft, but her grip firm.

"And very nice to meet you too," she says kindly, smiling. Butterflies erupt in my chest.

"Well I'll see you and Ty Lee later, and I'll see you, Suki, tomorrow," she says, never stopping that incredible smile as she walks back around her desk, "Thank you for stopping by and returning the book girls, and thank you for coming and introducing yourself Korra, I look forward to having you in my class."

"Goodbye Miss Sato! See you later!" Ty Lee says, making her way out of the classroom.

"See you later Miss Sato!" Suki chirped too, following Ty Lee.

"It was nice meeting you Miss," I say and give Miss Sato a shy smile before quickly following the other two.

"How old is she?" I immediately ask as we exit the library. Suki laughs.

"She looks young right?! She's the most relaxed and most fun teacher in this school," Ty Lee says as we make our way up towards the dorm houses.

"And as for your question, we don't know how old she is, she won't tell us, but our best guess is that she's probably around 24? Although she's probably 26 or something because this is her third year teaching at Kyoshi Academy," Suki says, and I nod.

"It's kind of a competition between all of us to be her favorite because so far she's shown no signs of having a favorite," Ty Lee explains, and I nod.

"Hey new girl," I hear a voice say behind me and all three of us turn. We come to face with a group of about 5 girls, and I straight away notice that four of them are very attractive and about my age. The fifth girl is a small grade 8, also quite pretty but not at all fitting in with the other four. I assume this is the group of girls that Ty Lee and Suki told me about before. Speaking of Ty Lee and Suki, both seem to have shrunk backward.

"Hi, I'm Azula," the lead girl says, giving me a quick look up and down.

"Hey," I say. Pretty high school girls don't really intimidate me. I know how to deal with bitches and bullies.

"And you are?" She pushes, raising an eyebrow impatiently as if it were obvious that I was supposed to state my name.

"Korra," I say simply. Already made it clear to myself that these are not the type of girls I want to be friends with.

"We can show you the rest of the school, Ty Lee and Suki, don't you have something else to do?" another one of the girls says, raising an eyebrow at the two girls next to me.

"Uh no thanks I'm fine with them, thanks for the offer though girls, see you around," I say, giving the same tone back, before turning around and taking Suki and Ty Lee by the shoulders and turning them around too. I don't hear any more from the mean girls' clan behind us and we continue walking. I feel Ty Lee and Suki's wide eyes staring at me.

"What?" I ask after several seconds.

"No one has ever turned down a friend invitation from them..." Suki says in disbelief.

"They didn't sound very friendly," I say simply.

"I can't believe you just did that!" Ty Lee exclaims quietly, glancing over her shoulder to make sure they're not in earshot.

"It's no big deal, they disrespected you, I'm not going to be friends with bitches," I say, shrugging.

"Well I'd watch your back from now on, they probably have it out for you now," Suki warns. By now we're walking past the first two dorm mansions.

"It was nice meeting you Korra, I'll see you around," Suki says as we near her house, "see you guys at dinner, see you later Ty Lee."

"Bye Suki, see you at dinner," Ty Lee says and we walk towards our own house.

"Honestly though, it was really cool what you did earlier," Ty Lee says to me as we walk up the steps to the front door.

"Honestly Ty Lee it was nothing, I just don't like girls like that," I say and give her a reassuring smile.

"It's so cool that you're so pretty, like you're on Azula and those girls' level, yet you're so down to earth! And so nice!" She says, surprise hugging me, pulling away she adds, "you can call me Ty, by the way, I like it more."

"So, to the right here is the common room," Ty Lee says, leading me down a short passage and showing me a massive lounge, with two fireplaces on either side and about 15 couches and another 20 chairs and tables placed all around the rooms. Several girls were already scattered around the room, either sitting in groups talking or sitting alone reading and studying. They all looked up as Ty Lee and I entered, however.

"Who are you?" One of the girls sitting in a group of three on a couch says, looking at me. She looks very athletic, looks like she has the build of someone with some muscle. She also has a tattoo peeking out of her rolled-up uniform sleeve. My gaydar goes wild as soon as she stands up. She has long wavy brown hair, slightly messy like she has enough time to take care of is but doesn't really care if it's perfect or not. Her skin is tanned, and there are marks indicating she had a lip ring at some time. Even the confident way she walks tells me she's at least bi.

"Korra, I'm new," I say. My theory on her being gay is confirmed as she scans me up and down. She smirks, clearly liking what she sees.

"Hey Korra, I'm Kuvira," she says flirtatiously, I remember Suki and Ty Lee telling me about her earlier, one of the girls who smoke and drinks. Matches that she'd be rebellious.

"Already hitting on the new chick Kuvira, can you not keep it in your pants?" Another girl that was sitting in Kuvira's group says, standing up and walking over.

"I'm Kori," she says when she reaches us, introducing herself. Kori has brown hair tied in a loose bun. She's also pretty, with tan skin, but her build is less athletic and skinnier. She also has a chilled short of feel about her personality and attitude, clearly, she smokes weed.

"Annnd I'm June," the third girl says, joining the mix. June is not like the others, she's more goth-like, black hair with heavy eyeliner and pale skin. I notice scars on her wrists but judging how she has them out in the open she obviously doesn't seem to care if people know.

"Nice to meet you guys," I say, chuckling.

"Wanna come chill with us?" Kuvira says, still flirting.

"Uh not right now, maybe later, still got to see where I'm sleeping," I say smiling politely. It's really not that I don't want to hang out with them, but I kinda just want some privacy right now. I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"If all goes well my bed is where you'll be sleeping," Kuvira says, winking and turning to return to her couch. I chuckle and shake my head. I turn back to Ty Lee, who's been waiting quietly. I wonder if those girls have been rude to Ty Lee too.

"Where to next?" I ask and smile at her.

"Um well the kitchen is down that passage to the left, and to the right is another passage that leads to Miss Sato's quarters," she says, turning around and pointing down a passage opposite to the common room. At the mention of Miss Sato's name, I'm immediately reminded of the beautiful raven-haired goddess I met earlier. I feel the butterflies from earlier flutter nervously in my chest at the memory of the encounter. Wow... crushing already... not even on a student…

"And our rooms are upstairs," Ty Lee says, walking forward down on the wide passageway to a large stairwell which twists upwards. I follow her and we start our climb.

"So, the girls I just met, those are the rebellious girls you and Suki were talking about earlier?" I ask.

"Yes, and I forgot to mention that Kuvira is gay, sorry if you got uncomfortable when she was hitting on you... she hits on a lot of us, just ignore it, she'll stop eventually," Ty Lee says.

"No, it's okay, I'm not really phased that she was flirting with me," I say and add, "she doesn't seem that scary."

"She's scary when she gets angry, and when she threatens you," she says as we reach the first floor, "oh so this is the first floor. There's a bathroom with an open shower for four and two separate toilet stalls. There are 8 rooms on this floor, with four beds in each."

"Has Kuvira and the others in that group ever been mean to you?" I ask as we climb to the second floor.

"I once told her smoking is bad for you in year 10 and she threatened to give me a swirlie if I ever told her something like that again," she says, "but mostly they ignore me because I'm what they call a 'goodie two shoes'."

"I'm on this floor," Ty Lee says when we reach the third floor, "You're on the next floor, the fourth floor. You're lucky, you're only sharing a room with one person, I think it's Yue."

"I wouldn't call living on the last floor in the building without an elevator lucky," I say, and Ty Lee giggles.

Finally, we reach the fourth floor and Ty Lee leads me through a few more corridors and past some doors, some opened and some not, before we reach mine. Room number 28. Ty Lee knocks and a few seconds later the door opens and there stands a rather short girl, at least a head shorter than me. She's got incredibly long beautiful white hair, and beautiful tan skin.

"Hey Yue," Ty Lee says, "This is Korra."

"Hey," I say, extending a hand.

"Hey," she says smiling, and shaking my hand, and I feel jealous at how white her teeth are.

"Come in roomie," she says, stepping to the side to let me enter.

"Okay," I say, stepping inside. There's a bed on either side with a bed sided table, along with a desk at the foot of each bed, and a tall cupboard at the head of the beds.

"Thank you for showing me around Ty," I say turning around and giving the small brunette a smile.

"Of course! It was really nice meeting you Korra! If you ever need help don't feel shy to ask me! I'll see you around!" She says and gives me another out-of-no-where hug.

"Would you like me to come up and show you to dinner later?" Ty Lee asks, letting go of me and stepping back.

"I can show her, I don't mind," Yue says, smiling.

"Okay! Well, I'll see you guys later then," Ty Lee says before slipping away.

"I don't mind talking, but do you mind if I just finish this essay quickly? I'll be another half an hour tops," she asks.

"Of course, I won't disturb you, I need to unpack anyways," I say, and she smiles gratefully and sits back her desk. I start unpacking my clothes, mostly uniforms but also formal dresses and comfortable clothes for the weekends. I also unpack my books into a shelf on the wall above the desk, and some decorative art pieces, some drawings from my mom and others of mine that I feel proud of I place over my wall over my bed. Once I'm done, I collapse on my bed and sigh. Today has been one eventful day, and it's not even over yet.


	2. Chapter 2

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 2  
\--  
Korra’s POV

A few minutes after I had collapsed on my bed, rather exhausted, Yue stands up from her desk and walks over and plops down on her bed, facing me.

“Sorry about that, I hardly have any time for homework, but I’m all done now if you wanna talk,” she says, and I sit up and turn to face her.

"Sure," I say, happy to make friends with the girl I’ll be sharing a room with for the rest of the year,

"What do you mean you don't have much time for homework?"

"Well, I have two hours of gymnastics training every afternoon after my last class, just not today because my trainer was sick. And before breakfast, I have piano lessons for an hour. Usually, I study and do my homework on the weekends but sometimes the teachers assign stuff on a Monday due on like that Wednesday," she explains, and I raise my eyebrows, impressed.

"Quite a busy schedule you have," I comment, and she nods.

"What subjects are you taking?" She asks and I lean over to my desk and fish my timetable from on top of it.

"Mathematics, English, English Literature, Art, Biology, French, and Music," I say.

"Wow, you don't have to take two 2nd languages? How did you get out of that one?" She asks surprised.

"I went to a Cambridge school beforehand and I've already written my A levels for Spanish," I explain, and she nods.

"What subjects are you taking?" I ask.

"Mathematics, Business, Economics, Physics, English, Spanish and Latin," she replies and I nod, impressed.

"What do you want to do when we graduate?" Yue asks.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I guess because I love art so much, I'll consider going into something like fine arts but I'm also pretty good at math," I say, "And you?"

"I'll probably study either business or accounting, I haven't decided yet," she says. We talk more about the school, and she asks me about my previous school and Cape Town when I tell her where I'm from. She tells me about her gymnastics, and she one day hopes to be in the Olympics, which is why she trains so hard.

When dinner time comes around, I follow Yue downstairs, and it seems like all the girls tend to head down to dinner at the same time, everyone is pouring down the stairs, down the passage, and out the front door like an eager river.

"Hey, you're the new girl, right?" A voice says to my right, and I was expecting it I'm expecting lots of 'you're the new girl right' for the next few days. I look to my right and see a cute looking girl with straight shoulder-length brown hair.

"Yeah, I am. Korra," I say, smiling at her. She smiles back. "I'm Jinora, I'm in year 12, your year, right?" Jinora says and I nod. "Hi Yue," she says when she sees Yue walking to my left. "Hi Jinora," Yue greets back.

"We do gymnastics together," Jinora tells me, “if you want you can join us at our table tonight? The gymnastics girls usually sit together."

"Sure, thanks," I accept the offer, not wanting to sit by myself, “I thought you'd sit according to your year?"

"No, not really. Although the young years tend to sit in their years, that's because they have to take nearly all the subjects and don't have time to make friends outside their year," Yue explains.

By now we've reached the dining hall and we walk in, and again I'm amazed and how high the ceiling is and how large the hall is. At one end is obviously where the food is severed, and at the other end is a raised platform with one long table, where I notice a lot of the teachers are already sitting. That must be the teacher's table. I recognize Principal Hou-Ting, Mr. Fire the art teacher a few seats to her left, and Mrs. Moon the psychologist sitting in the seat to her right. My heart jumps as I see a raven-haired woman enter from a door to the side and walk up the steps onto the platform and take a seat next to Mrs. Moon. Miss Sato...

I follow Jinora and Yue to a table more towards the back, where two girls are already seated.

"Hey Ladies," Yue says, walking around the table and hugging them from around the shoulders from behind and they great her back.

"This is Korra, she's new, I said she could join us tonight," Jinora introduces me and I suddenly feel a little nervous, realizing I'm kind of intruding.

"Hi Korra, nice to meet you, I'm Song," one of the girls says with a smile, “Take a seat, you're welcome to join us."

The table fills up in the next five minutes, and I feel very welcomed by them all, two or three seemed a little antisocial and shy and didn't make contact but I don't mind. Once the hall seems to have filled with girls and many voices drowning out each other’s conversations, a loud bell that sounds very much like a church bell rings three times, and with each ring, the room becomes quieter. Once the room has become completely silent after the third ring, Hou-Ting stands.

"Good evening girls," She greets, and I'm surprised at how her voice travels across the entire hall A clear, united "good evening Misses Hou-Ting," is returned.

"We get to serve first, then the year 11s and so forth until the year 7s," Jinora says to me as we make our way to the serving station at the end of the hall.

"What about the teachers?" I ask.

"They get served directly to their table by serving staff," Yue explains.

Dinner goes by quickly, and I feel happy that the food is more than decent, I was fearing it would be horrible, but I guess with such a wealthy school it the food would be good. The hall buzzes with conversation and gossip throughout dinner, but at a respectful level I can help but through glances at the teachers' table every now and then to catch a glimpse of Misses Sato, and I shake my head at myself. I've never developed a crush so fast. I don't mind the fact that it's on a teacher, there's nothing wrong with that. It's not like anything is ever going to happen, she’ll always just see me as another student, plus it's ridiculous to even think anything would ever happen. Plus, I'm pretty sure there are tons of girls here who've had a girl crush on her at some point, she's probably used to it.

Throughout dinner I answer any questions thrown at me drone the girls around the table, things like "Where did you move from?”, “What subjects are you taking?" And "Do you play sports?". By the time diner is over I'm pretty tired and eager to get back to the house, and I'm happy when Yue stands, giving me a look that says 'Wanna leave?', to which I give her a nod.

"I’ll see you girls tomorrow in class or at training, Korra and I are going to go back to our house," Yue says, and I stand with her. Some of the girls wish us a goodnight while others say they'll see us just now, and we leave.

"So, you can leave when you're done?" I ask as I note others from around the hall have also stood up and some are already walking out

"Yeah pretty much," Yue replies.

"Can you sing?" Yue asks out of nowhere as we're walking up towards the houses.

"I guess so. I can play guitar and so singing came along with that when I started playing," I say, not sure how to answer, I don't like boasting.

"You can play guitar?? You'll have to show me one day!! I can sing, I love singing," Yue says, her eyes lighting up, and I can tell she has a passion for music. I laugh at her enthusiasm.

"Yeah my dad used to play guitar, he taught me," I say.

"Well we have a piano and a guitar and a few other instruments in the common room if you want to play," Yue offers.

"Cool, maybe some time," I say, not sure if I want to be playing and singing for other people just yet. By now we've entered the house and are walking into the common room, which already has a few girls, including Kuvira’s group, in it.

"Ahh look who it is, the hot new girl," Kuvira says grinning at me and I laugh.

"Come sit with us Korra," the other girl who I think is called Kori says. I look at Yue and raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah sure you go ahead," she says, "I've got some more homework to finish, see you later."

"Okay," I say as she walks toward the staircase and I walk over to join Kuvira’s group.

"So, do you drink?" Kuvira asks as I sit in an armchair. Wow, already straight into it. Ty Lee and Suki weren't kidding.

"Sometimes," I say shrugging. "And smoke?" She asks.

"Not really, sometimes socially," I say honestly. I've never really liked the taste.

"What about drugs?" Kori asks now.

"I've experimented with weed, nothing else really," I shrug.

"Finally, a new girl who isn't as tight as a virgin," Kuvira says and I laugh, that's one way of saying it.

"Got any tattoos?" Kuvira asks, scanning me.

"Yeah, one above my ankle, apparently I have to cover that up with leggings or long socks," I say, lifting my leg and pulling down my sock to show them the delicately detailed wave sketched above my ankle.

"Nice," Kori says, and Kuvira and June nod.

"Yeah, the covering up tattoo thing is annoying, I've got a few and it becomes a bit of a mission," Kuvira rolls her eyes, "So are you single?"

"Oh my god Kuvira," sighs Kori rolling her eyes now and I laugh, Kuvira still being very flirtatious.

"What? I'm just asking," Kuvira says to Kori. I notice that more and more girls are entering the common room in pairs and groups, finding places to get comfortable. I see Ty Lee entire with a very shy looking girl. Ty Lee sees me and waves and I stand.

"I'll see you guys later," I say.

"Yeah you will," Kuvira says with a wink and I shake my head smiling. I make my way over to Ty Lee and her friend, who is looking at me with wide nervous eyes.

"Hey Korra, this is my friend On Ji," Ty Lee says, introducing me to the shy girl.

"Hey On Ji, nice to meet you," I say, smiling at her, earning a blush and a shy smile from her.

"Do you wanna come to sit with us?" Ty Lee asks and I nod. She leads me and On Ji over to a free couch.

"How did you like dinner?" Ty Lee asks as she and On Ji sit on a couch and sit in an armchair across from them.

It was better than expected," I say, and Ty Lee giggles.

"Yeah the food isn't bad here," she says. Her eyes move from me to above my shoulder and she smiles.

"Hey Ty Lee,” a voice says behind me, and I turn to see two girls coming over to us and sitting on another couch next to me.

"Hi Jin, hi Song," Ty Lee says, then indicates to me, "This is Korra, the new girl I was talking about"

"Hi," I say with a half-smile and the smile back.

"Hi Korra, nice to meet you, I'm Jin," one of the girls, the one with straight black hair and a very slim figure, says.

And you met me earlier, I'm Song," the brunette and equally skinny girl next to her says, and I smile at both of them. Lord above how am I going to remember all these names and faces.

"Omg hi, Miss Sato!!" I hear Ty Lee yell suddenly and my breath hitches in my throat at the sound of her name.

"Hello girls," I hear the angelic voice says with a laugh. I twist and see her walking towards us. She sees me and smiles, and I feel a blush come to my cheeks.

"Hi, Miss Sato," Jin and Song chime in and she greets them back with that beautiful heart-stopping smile of hers.

"Do you mind if I sit with you girls? Or are you gossiping about stuff my teacher ears can't hear?" She asks and immediately Ty Lee and On Ji move over and she gracefully takes a seat.

"You know we always tell you all the gossip anyways Miss," Jin says laughing.

"Very true," Miss Sato responds, and I dig my nails into my leg to calm down the butterflies from fluttering around in my stomach every time she talks. ‘Shhhh!!’ I silently command my heart, which is beating way to hard and fast. I can't stop staring at her. She turns to me gives me that smile directly, and I feel the heat flood to my face. Why do you have to be so gay Korra? She's just a person. Calm down.

"Hello again Korra," she says, "Are you settling in okay? Are my girls being nice?"

"Yes Miss, mostly everyone's been nice so far," I say, trying extremely hard to be normal.

"I'm glad, I hear you're staying with Yue in room 28?" She asks and I nod.

"Ahh good, Yue needs a roommate," she says.

"Miss is it true you're helping direct the school play this year??" Jin asks, and Miss Sato’s attention turns from me as she looks over at Jin, and I let out a breath.

"Yes, it is, are you going to audition this year Jin? And I also expect to see you in auditions Song," she says. A play?

"We most definitely are going to audition," Jin says excitedly.

"Can you please tell us what play we're doing this year?" Ty Lee begs, and Miss Sato laughs, causing my heart to skip again.

"You know I can't do that, you'll find out in assembly next week," she says.

"Aww," Jin and Song groan in disappointment.

Are you still going to be a judge on the talent show though at the end of the second term?" I hear Yue saying, and she joins us, perching on my armrest.

"Yes, I am Yue, will you be participating again this year?" she asks. Her eyes are so beautiful.

"Of course, and I think I'm going to make Korra sing with me," Yue says, and I smack her leg.

"Can you sing Korra?" Miss Sato asks with her attention on me again. "I'm not sure..." I say nervously.

"Oh, come on show us!" Ty Lee says and I feel red flowing to my cheeks. "She can play guitar too," Yue says, and I glare at her, to which she pulls a tongue at me. "Play for us!" Song urges. Jin jumps up and rushes to the corner of the room and fetches a guitar.

"The cats out the bag, you have to now," Yue says laughing and groan and look at Miss Sato for help. She smiles apologetically and raises her hands in defensive to show she's not part of this. Jin has returned by now and hands me the guitar which I take reluctantly.

"Do I really have to do this?" I sigh.

"Yes!" Ty Lee says eagerly, at the edge of her seat.

"We won't judge you," Jin promises. I notice a few other girls around have stopped what they're doing and have turned to watch us. I look up at Miss Sato, who's head is tilted and is watching me with curiosity, and when she sees me look up at her she gives me a reassuring smile.

"Um okay, what do you want me to sing then," I sigh. "Yay!!" They all cheer, happy that I've finally given in.

"Sing whatever you want," Yue says and the other girls nod.

"Okay…," I say adjusting the guitar in my arms, and testing the autotune, which is perfect, "Here goes nothing..."

I start pecking and strumming at the strings, first improvising before the tune of 'Give me Love' by Ed Sheeran starts to play through. It's a gentle song, simple to play and easy to sing, and before long Yue joins in, and she does have a good voice, however, I can hear her holding back as she lets me sing the main voice. At some point during the song I look up and lock eyes with Miss Sato, who's smiling gently, and I feel my chest swell, knowing she's enjoying my singing somehow makes me really happy. When I'm done, I'm surprised by how much clapping I hear and I look around to see at least 30 people standing and listening, and I blush, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"Wow... that was incredible! Jin says, and Song, Ty Lee, and On Ji all nod and agree with wide eyes and impressed expressions.

"You have to audition with me," Yue says, and I roll my eyes and reluctantly agree. I look at Miss Sato, who's lips are pursed and smiling.

"I better see you at auditions for the play," she says, "You have a beautiful voice."

"Thank you, Miss," I blush.

"Seriously though, where'd you learn to sing and play like that?!?" Jin asks. Soon everyone stops paying attention to me and starts talking within their own conversations, and Miss Sato gets called by some other girls so they can tell her some gossip and she says goodbye to us, and stand gracefully and walks over to them, but when she walks past me she touches my shoulder and says, “I’ll come to speak to you later," and I feel a shiver run through my body starting from where she touched me. My heart beats nervously as I wonder what she wanted to talk to me about. She probably found out why I've been sent her and wants to know about that.

Distractedly I watch Miss Sato walk away, my eyes accidentally moving to her gorgeous waist and then to her ass, which looks extremely attractive in her pencil skirt. After a while of talking about Jin's boyfriend and Song's ex, I feel my exhaustion catching up to me, and I excuse myself and say goodnight and head upstairs.

When I reach my room, I walk in and close the door. I rest my head on the door as soon it shuts and close my eyes. In front of my eyelids the faces of my mother, my father, my little sister Eska and my young brother Desna flash by and I bite my lip to stop the tears. I've managed the entire day to keep on the face of a happy girl, nervous on her first day at a new school, but there's only so much I can take.  
I open my eyes and straighten up, take a deep, shaky breath and turn around to my bed and walk toward it. I lie down and look up at the drawings that I hung up earlier, my eyes finding the ones my mom drew, a horse, a dolphin, a mountain, the moon with Jupiter in the background.

In my chest, I feel that familiar cracking feeling through my heart, and a knot forms in my throat, without wanting it to happen a teardrop falls slowly from the corner from my left eye. Behind me, the door suddenly opens, and I quickly pull myself together and wipe away the tear and sit up looking around to see Yue smiling at me as she enters.

"You really can sing," she says grinning, and I smile shyly back at her.

"I guess so," I say shrugging like it is no big deal because I don't feel like it is.

"Well, we're definitely going to have some jamming sessions together okay?" She says and I laugh and nod in agreement.

"I'm gonna go take shower," she says, grabbing a towel and a toiletry bag and leaving the room again.

"Have fun," I say, and lay back down on my bed. I stare at the ceiling for a bit before I'm pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of gentle knocking on the door, which makes no sense because Yue didn't close the door behind her. I sit up and turn around and feel my heart skip a beat when my eyes rest on the beautiful woman with raven wavy hair leaning against the door frame, her arms folded casually across her chest.

"Hi Miss," I say surprised, before remembering that she said she'd come to talk to me later. Later must be now.

"Hello Korra, may I come in?" She asks and I nod. She carefully sits on the bed across from me, and I marvel at how graceful she is. She looks at me carefully and I feel nervous, waiting for her to say something.

"Misses Moon informed me of why you're here," she says gently, and I look down. I know what she's talking about, and I pray she isn't going to ask me if I want to talk about it, I've had too many people ask me that.

"What did she tell you?" I ask hesitantly.

"She told me you moved here from Cape Town, that you were in an accident 8 months ago," she says, she's being very careful and I can tell she's watching me for any signs that I might break down. I look up again at her, and my heart melts at the sight of how much care is shown in her eyes.

"I'm fine Miss if that's what you're asking," I say, being very careful to not show any breaking in my voice.

"I'm just downstairs in the room down the hall across from the kitchen if you need something or someone," she says, and then smiles and adds, "even if it is in the middle of the night or early in the morning, I promise I won't be mad." I smile at the last part.

"Thank you, Miss Sato," I say, and hearing her tell me that she's here for me sounds so much more believable then it does from anyone else.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" She asks, tilting her head. She's so beautiful.

"Umm well... sometimes I get nightmares, I get a heavy cold sweat and I yell and cry, it's hard to wake me up... and I'm kind of nervous that I'll have one with a roommate... I'd prefer not everyone knowing about it..." I say, feeling my face turn red with embarrassment and I look down.

"It's okay, I’ll inform Yue and tell her to call me when it happens and to not mention it to any of the other girls," she says gently, and I feel grateful she doesn't ask what the nightmares are about. I look up at her again and smile grateful and she returns a warm understanding smile that makes the knot in my chest fall away.

"Did...did Misses Moon tell you everything?" I ask hesitantly, realizing how much it's taking me to hold back tears. This is exactly why I hate talking about this, I hate crying, especially in front of people.

"Yes, she did," she says, and I notice how in this whole conversation I haven't heard any pity in her voice, just gentleness, and I really appreciate that, I hate pity.

"She only told me because she would like you to know that there's someone dose by to you at all times if you need, and I agree with her. I care about you girls an awful lot, all of you." I nod, understanding.

"Could you not tell anyone, or at least not the students? People tend to treat me differently if they know... and I came here for a new start, not for pity," I say, taking a deep breath and pushing away the tears.

"Sure honey," she says, "I understand. Anything you tell me will be confidential."

"Thank you, Miss Sato," I smile at her gratefully.

"Now let me leave you to sleep, I'm sure you're pretty exhausted by now," she says, changing the atmosphere, and I feel grateful for that.

"Goodnight Korra," she says, lingering at the door.

"Goodnight Miss Sato, I'll see you tomorrow," I say, and we smile at each other before she gently closes the door. I feel too tired to shower, so I set my alarm to 6 a.m. so that I can take a shower before breakfast, and change into PJs and slip under the covers, and it's not long before I'm asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 3  
\--  
Korra's POV

Having a roommate who's an early bird is fantastic when you are also an early bird. I thank myself for not having a nightmare on my first night as I make my way to the showers.

On my way back to my room wrapped only in a towel, I greet the few others awake and making their way downstairs or to the showers. I dry myself and dress in the school uniform, dry my hair and brush it before pulling it back into a loose bun, with a few loose strands. I then sit at my desk and pick up the code of conduct and flip through it, reading as I go. There are the classic rules all schools have, "no alcohol, no non-prescribed drugs, no smoking of any kind", and "no bullying, teasing, belittling or swearing of any kind", and then there were the rules saying what rules applied to which years, which I skipped over until I got to the rules which applied to my year. Basically I am allowed natural-looking makeup and three pieces of reasonable jewelry, no tattoos to be seen, no specific lights out time however students are expected to be in their house after 9:30, we are allowed cellphones but only inside our house and so on. I read through the rest of the paper before signing it. Just then Yue returned from her piano lesson, and I turn to greet her.

"Morning," I say.

"Good morning," she says, playing down her piano books.

"Breakfast is in 5 minutes, want to walk down with me now?" She asks and I nod and stand, taking the signed code of conduct with me.

"Is that the code of conduct?" Yue asks as we descend down the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm gonna drop it off before breakfast," I say. "Hey Jinora," I greet Jinora when I see her on the second floor.

"Oh, hey Korra, you’re taking art, right?" She asks.

"Yeah, I am, why?

"Just checking, I do too, so I'll see you there?" She says and I smile.

"See you there," I say before continuing down the stairs with Yue.

"You make friends quickly," Yue states, "Everyone seems to like you, how do you do it?"

"Wow really?" I say surprised, "I don't know..."

"Yeah everyone was saying how nice and pretty you are when you left to go to bed last night," Yue continues and I raise an eyebrow, surprised.

"I'm not good at making friends… maybe it's because I'm always studying or always busy with something," Yue says, and I catch a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Well I think we're gonna be friends, I mean we are sharing a room," I say bumping her shoulder and she grins.

We reach the part of the pathway that splits, leading either towards the dining hall or towards the courtyard. I tell Yue to go ahead while I make my way across the courtyard to reception and drop off the signed paper, greeting Misses Kanna as I do.

"Korra Dear," I hear Misses Moon’s voice say as I'm about to leave. "Yes, Misses Moon?" I say, turning to greet her.

"Walk with me to breakfast, I need to speak with you," she says and falls into step next to her. I hate it when grownups, especially teachers, say 'I need to speak with you', it always makes me nervous, like I'm in trouble.

"As you know, I'm the school psychologist," she says, I nod and she continues, “your godfather has asked that we have a few sessions, and for me to evaluate if you need to see me more." I sigh.

"I know, but I think it's important you speak to someone, you have been through a lot," she says kindly, and I know she means well. It is her job. Not wanting to cause trouble I nod.

"So tomorrow in your free after Mathematics and before English, I've booked our first appointment, do you know where my office is? She says.

"I do ma'am," I say as we excite the courtyard.

"Excellent, I shall see you then. Have a good first-day dear," Misses Moon says, touching my shoulder and giving me a kind smile before walking off to the teacher's entrance of the hall.

"What was that about?" I hear Jin ask, and I turn to see Song and Jin arriving next to me.

"Oh, nothing serious," I dismiss.

"Okay. Wanna join our table for breakfast?" Song asks.

"Sure, I'll just have to tell Yue and Jinora," I say, and follow them inside. After breakfast, I head back up to the house to get my art supplies and books for the day, and Jinora joins me.

Art was interesting, and I soon learned that pretty much all the girls in the art class have a crush on Mr. Fire, which made me feel a little better about my crush on Miss Sato. After art, I had a break, which I spent with Jinora, who is also taking the exact subjects I am except she's also taking Spanish. I quite like Jinora, she keeps a conversation going, and she has a very similar sense of humor to me, and she's not only interested in talking about boys and parties and the smaller trivial things, we got into quite a heated debate on politics. Our debate was interrupted by the beeping of her watch, telling us it was time for English. My heart starts to beat a little faster as we make our way through the courtyard towards the English classroom, feeling excited about seeing Miss Sato again.

We enter the classroom, which is already half full, and my eyes immediately find and rest on the stunning toned teacher, leaning against her desk at the front of the classroom, patiently waiting for all her students to arrive and settle down.

"Good morning Miss Sato," Jinora greets as she walks past.

"Good morning girls," Miss Sato returns, her smile snatching away the air in my chest. All I can manage is smile as her eyes rest on me when I walk past. I take a seat next to Jinora and copy her in getting my note pad, pencil case, and textbook out my shoulder bag. We're sitting close to the front, which I don't mind at all.

"Alright," Miss Sato says, closing the classroom door once everyone has entered and taken a seat, "Let us begin."

I try to concentrate as much as possible, but that's extremely hard when you have the most beautiful women you have ever seen teaching you. I'm not one to be disrespectful and check out girl’s asses or breasts, but I can't stop my eyes from scanning down to her ass when she turns to write on the blackboard. Un-intentionally and unconsciously I catch myself biting the back of my pen when my eyes catch sight of her legs, toned, and beautiful, her calf muscles defined from her heels. Luckily, she doesn't catch me, at least I both hope and think she doesn't, but when her eyes do reach mine every now and then as she's teaching, I feel my heartbeat falter momentarily. Maybe English is going to be harder than I anticipated.

English passes way too quickly, time flies when you're having fun as the saying goes, and soon we're packing out books away.

"Miss Sato is a good teacher hey?" Jinora asks as we leave her class and I nod, even though I wasn't 100% concentrating on her teaching skills. I have another break after English, which I spend doing the homework we got in English. I might as well get it done now and not have to worry about it later.

"Hey loner," I hear a voice say, and I look up to see Kuvira taking a seat across from me at the concrete table under the canopy of trees.

"Hey Kuvira," I reply, returning to my writing. "Whatcha doing?" She asks, leaning forward.

"English," I reply. After having siblings I'm rather good at doing my work while distracting voices ask me questions.

"Nice, did you get Miss Sato or the old guy Mr. Unalaq?" She asks. "Miss Sato," I reply.

"Miss Sato," I reply.

"Nice, she's hot right?" I look up at that and notice she's watching my reactions. She's still trying to figure out if I'm into girls or not, and me not wanting to give her the satisfaction of finding out I shrug.

"She's alright I guess," I lie as I return to my work.

"I had such a big crush on her when she first joined when I was in year 10, but by the time I'd learned how to flirt properly and how to get girls in year 11 she had become old news. I'd still sleep with her if I got the chance though," she says, pushing me. How can a woman that graceful and beautiful ever become old news, I think to myself?

"When could you ever get the chance to sleep with the teacher," I laugh. "I'm just saying," she chuckles.

"Come on, just tell me already, you into girls or not?" She asks, groaning with curiosity. I look up and smirk.

"Why do you want to know?" I grin, not giving up yet.

"Because you're pretty hot and I want to know if I have a shot with you," she says, a sly smile playing on her lips.

"What do you think I am?" I ask, returning to my writing again.

"Just because you asked that question and because you haven't immediately denied it like a straight girl would I'm guessing you're at least bi," she says. Just then my phone beeps in my pocket, letting me know it's time for math.

"I have math now," I say standing grabbing my books, and Kuvira groans in frustration, "So I guess you'll not be getting a straight answer out of me today."

"Is that you subtly telling me you're not straight?" She asks raising an eyebrow, and I shrug and walk off.

"Oh, come on," she says after me and I smile to myself. Kuvira isn't really my type, not that I really have a type, but I do know that as soon as my eyes set on someone and I start crushing on them I tend to find it very difficult to find anyone else attractive in a sexual or romantic way.

Math passes by slowly, but I don't mind. I like math because I'm good at it. The only people who hate math are people who haven't clicked with it and who aren't good at it, and the only people who like or love math are the ones who are good at it, and I'm in the latter group. My father loved math, he used to read books about it in his spare time and practice it whenever he got the chance, and because he loved it so much and I wanted to connect with him when I was younger, I let him teach me and it became our thing. The math I'll be doing this year is math I learned when I was twelve, so I don't have to worry much about this subject.

After math, I make my way to lunch, and I join Jin and Song at their table, and gratefully I'm not in the spotlight for conversation, instead I listen to them talk about what they will be wearing to our end of year dance and who they will be bringing.

After lunch, I make my way to French, the one subject I'm taking that I'm not good at it. To make matters worse it's a class that I share with the bitches I bumped into yesterday, Azula and one of her friends. They both make a point of staring at me with a very judgmental intimidating look as I enter. And, to top things off the teacher, Madam Hama, is an old grump lady who only speaks French in our class and who does not allow room for mistakes.

By the time I'm done with French, I feel eager for my free time, which I spend again at the concrete table under the shade. This time Ty Lee joins me with On Ji, who is still very quiet and shy around me, and gets very shy when I catch her staring at me. I find out that Ty Lee's family has moved to Australia, and she only gets to see them once a year. I also find out that Ty Lee had cancer when she was a child but has been clear of it for 7 years. It's amazing the types of unexpected lives people live.

My second last class is biology, which I'm keen for, considering how much I love the subject, it used to be my favorite, but judging by my new English teacher I'm guessing English and English Literature are about to become my favorite subjects. While I'm biology, I realize how little time I've spent thinking about my parents, my little sister Eska and my younger brother Desna today. Part of me feels guilty, but another part of me feels happy. For the first time in eight months, I've managed to occupy my time and mind with a distraction that is healthy, school. I feel happy that I'm actually managing to start afresh, to start to move on with my life like everyone's told me to do, like part of me has wanted to.

I find myself feeling very eager to get to Literature, not only because it's my last lesson for the day but because it means I get to see Miss Sato, again. I'm joined by Jinora and Yue on my way to the Library and I greet both, feeling proud of myself as I actually realize that I have made friends.

"How's your first day been?" Jinora asks.

"It's been alright," I reply honestly.

"So far what do you think of all the teachers?" Yue asks.

"Uhh well they're all pretty good, the French teacher is a bit grumpy though," I say, and they laugh at the last part, both agreeing.

"And what do you think of Mr. Fire? How hot is he?!" Jinora asks, obviously expecting me to agree with her.

"I guess, not really into guys 15 years older than me," I shrug.

"He's not that old! He's only 28," Jinora says, hearts practically showing in her eyes.

"So, who is your favorite teacher then? So far," Yue asks, rolling her eyes at Jinora for fangirling over our art teacher.

"I guess Miss Sato," I say, seeing no harm in telling the truth. "Okay yeah same," Yue says smiling, "She's so much fun."

At that point, we've entered the library and make our way quietly to the back classroom. We take seats in the front row, and I don't object.

We're the first ones at the class, but soon it fills up, and we all sit talking quietly among one another while we wait for Miss Sato to arrive.

"Pretty women wonder where my secret lies,  
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size,"

All our heads turn to source the familiar smooth voice of Miss Sato, who is walking slowly down the center of the classroom reading off a piece of paper.

"But when I start to tell them,  
They think I'm telling lies.  
I say,  
It's in the reach of my arms,  
The span of my hips,  
The stride of my steps,  
The curl of my lips.  
I'm a woman  
Phenomenally.  
Phenomenal woman,  
That's me."

The class is silent while she reads the poem to us as she walks gracefully and slowly up the center aisle, turning as she finishes the first paragraph, and lowers the paper and looks around at us. I can't help but smile, I know this poem, and I feel a shiver run down my back at how she improved the poem just by speaking it.

"Phenomenal woman by Maya Angelou," I say, and she looks at me and smiles.

"Very good Korra," she says before looking back down at the poem and continuing her reading, elegant and mesmerizing.

"I walk into a room  
Just as cool as you please,  
And to a man,  
The fellows stand or  
Fall to their knees,  
Then they swarm around me,  
A hive of honeybees.  
I say,  
It's the fire in my eyes,  
And the flash of my teeth,  
The swing in my waist,  
I'm a woman,  
Phenomenally."

I can't help but smile at the fact that the poem must definitely relate to her, she is the type of woman to walk in a room and call the attention of all the men in sight. I can't imagine how many catcalls she gets walking down the street, and how many times she's had a man offer to buy her a drink or asked for her number. She continues to read that poem and when she gets to the part about the "arch of my bade and "the ride of my breasts", I feel a shiver run down my spine and a tingling spread through my fingers and down towards my core. I adjust my position and cross my legs, feeling a rush of lust fill me, and the sounds of those words leaving her mouth. ‘You're getting turned on... by your teacher... in the middle of class... common Korra get a grip...’ I scold and pinch myself.

Miss Sato finishes the poem and leans against her desk, lowering the paper and looking around the classroom. "So, girls, what do you think that poem was about?" She asks, setting it down on the desk behind her.

"Yes?" She asks a girl who has raised her hand.

"Umm miss I think that's pretty obvious, the poem is about an attractive woman," the girl says as if stating the obvious.

"You are not wrong," she says, "Why do you think it was written?"

Silence. I raise my hand slowly. I feel butterflies flutter nervously in my stomach as the light green eyes settle on mine. The corners of her mouth tug into a small smile.

"Yes Korra," she says, turning her full attention to me.

"The poem is directed to women, and the writer, Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist, I would say the poem is written to celebrate women," I say, "To bring light on how a woman is beautiful and powerful, being able to control men just by walking into a room, hence 'the follows stand or fall to their knees, then swarm around me like a hive of honeybees'."

"Very good! A keen perspective you have there Korra," she says, and I blush. She turns to the rest of the class and asks another question; however, I feel distracted by the curve of her neck and the line of her jawline. Everything about her, the way she moves with such grace, the way she talks with elegance, the way she walks with mesmerizing perfection, her breathtaking smile, her eyes with the ability to make my heart skip a beat with one simple look I don't know if I feel jealous of her, or if I want to kiss her. I shake myself out of it and force myself to concentrate, not wanting a repeat of English. If I'm going to pass English and Literature I need to be able to control my crush on my teacher and pay attention to the lessons.

"I'm going to hand out a poem which I want you to read," I come back to the real world to hear Miss Sato say as she starts walking around the classroom between the rows of desks handing out pieces of paper, "Once you have completed reading it I would like you to pinpoint a metaphor and explain how and why it is used. Obviously, some of you will pick the same metaphor and give similar explanations, so I will only be picking a few of you to speak out loud."

As she passes me and hands me my piece of paper, I catch a small breath of her perfume, which I recognize as Allure by Chanel, a brand my godfather's girlfriend wears. I wonder if she has a boyfriend who brought it for her.

"You may begin," Miss Sato’s voice brings me out of my thoughts. I look down at the paper in front of me and notice it's another poem by Maya Angelou, Caged Bird. The rest of the lesson goes by quickly, and Miss Sato does call on me to give my metaphor, and once again she is impressed by my answer.

"Korra?" She calls me at the end of the lesson while everyone is packing their stuff away.

"Yes, Miss?" I say, throwing my shoulder bag over my shoulder and walking to the front of her desk.

"I'm impressed, you have a keen eye for identifying writing techniques and purpose," she says, and I smile, extremely happy with myself for impressing her.

"Thank you, Miss," I say, trying to stop the redness from forming on my cheeks.

"Do you like writing?" She asks. "When I have inspiration," I say.

"Well I hope I inspire you this year," she says, giving me an incredibly sexy half-smile. Oh, miss, if only you knew how much you inspire me already… I think to myself.

"How did you find your first day?" She asks, and I notice I'm the last student remaining; however, I don't mind being held back from freedom. To me, this is better than freedom.

"It was alright, it's just a lot of walking between classes... this school is massive," I say, and she laughs.

"You'll get used to it," she says smiling before asking, “have you thought about what extra murals you would like to take?"

"I haven't really looked at the options," I say honestly.

"Well can you play football?" She questions.

"I can, I just haven't in a while," I say, thinking about Desna and how we used to play all the time and how we're the reasons that both of us got so good at it.

"Well think about it, we need some new faces in the team, it would be nice to beat Roku's School this year," she says, sighing.

"I'll think about it," I say. Her sigh is very adorable.

"Now go!" She says playfully, "be free! What are you still doing here talking to your teacher?"

I laugh, turning around and heading for the door. I linger at the frame of the door and give Miss Sato one last smile, which she returns, and I try not to think about how sexy her eyes looking when she looks up through her eyelashes.

As I walk back up to the dorm houses, I get lost in thought thinking about my family, starting with Desna. The mention of soccer brought a bunch of memories flooding back. The past few days all I have been able to think about school-related things, and last night I was too tired to stay up thinking about my siblings or my parents.

"Hey you, new girl," I hear a voice say, pulling me out of my thoughts. I seem to be getting lost in my own mind a lot today. I look around and realize I've already entered my year's house, and right now I'm standing in front of the common room door on my way to the staircase. I look up at the girl who called me and recognize her as the bitchy girl Azula from the day before. She's sitting on a couch painting her nails with the other three hot girls sitting around her, one of them on her phone, another doing homework, and a third helping her with her nails.

"Yeah it's Korra," I say, not letting her be bitchy to me.

"Come sit with us for a bit, we want to talk to you," she says, gives me an incredibly fake smile. I sigh.

"Alright," I say, moving over and carefully taking a seat on the couch across from her.

The girls take turns introducing themselves but considering I know I don't want to associate myself with this group I don't take note.

"Nice to meet you all," I say dismissively. If they're not interested in looking at me or acting like I exist then I won't respect them either, “now why am I here?"

Azula looks at me before looking at me carefully up and down, a look of amusement that somehow pisses me off twinkling in her eye.

"We heard that your godfather is Bolin Earth," she states, and the other girls put down their things and actually look at me. I frown in slight confusion, what is she getting at?

"Okay... and what's your point?" I ask frowning.

"We see potential in you, if you took a little more time to do your hair, nails, and makeup you could join us," she says, and I raise my eyebrows, not believing what I am hearing, is she serious? I didn't even know bitches like this even actually exist.

"It's about time someone on our level joined the school, and we need a new face," one of the other girls says.

"Remember, this is a one-time offer, and it's not often at all that we allow girls to join our group," Azula warns, crossing her right leg over her left and sitting back, folding her arms while she does so. I look round at them and almost burst out laughing at the serious expressions on their faces.

"So, you're basically trying to recruit me into your circle?" I clarify. "You could say it like that I guess, yes," Azula says, watching me.

“Because I’m attractive and my godfather is one of the richest men in Europe? Yeah, no thanks, I don’t make friends with stuck up people, but see you around,” I scoff.

"You will regret not taking us up on this offer, you really do not want to get on our bad side," Azula says as I walk away.

"Yeah I'll take my chances," I say over my shoulder and leave the room. I shake my head to myself as I make my way upstairs, not ready to believe such petty and stuck up people actually exist in the world.

The rest of the afternoon I spend completing my English essay from earlier, finishing off a math assignment, and writing a 300-word speech for French about the transport system in London. When dinner time comes, I join Song and Jin at their table again, and by the time I return from dinner, I’m eager to get to bed, my thoughts having returned to my family. I fall asleep staring at a picture my mother drew of the Alps when we went on holiday three years ago to Austria.


	4. Chapter 4

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 4  
\--  
Asami's POV

I awake to a frantic knocking on the door. Confused and still half asleep I stumble out of bed and grab my nightgown off the back of my desk chair.

"I'm coming," I say loudly enough for the person knocking at my door to hear, and as I stumble towards the passageway, I pull on my nightgown and wrap it around myself, tying it around my waist. I unlock the door and open it and look down on a wide-eyed frantic looking girl.

"Yes, Yue?" I ask, feeling myself waking up more quickly now, "what's wrong?"

"It's Korra, you told me to wake you if she ever had... you know, a nightmare," she says, and I notice a slight amount of fear and worry in her voice. As soon as the words are out her mouth, I push past her and run up the staircase, Yue close in pursuit. By the time I've reached the fourth floor a large percentage of the girls are awake and either standing confused and half-awake outside their room door or are looking around and asking each other what's going on.

"What's going on Miss Sato?" some of them ask me.

"Nothing girls, go back to your room," I say pushing through the girls hurriedly. Even before I reach the room, I can hear Korra yelling.

"Girls go back to bed now," I say firmly to three girls peering into room 28, and they reluctantly move away, whispering to each other with wide eyes and frightened looks on their faces. I step into the room and see Jinora leaning over Korra’s bed, holding the thrashing girl still and trying to wake her.

"Jinora go with Yue and tell the girls to get back in their beds," I say and Jinora steps away from Korra, relief flooding her face that an adult has arrived. I rush to the bed and grab Korra’s shoulders and shake them hard.

"Korra! Korra wake up," I shout, struggling to hold her down. Her entire body is drenched in a cold sweat and her face is contorted in pain, and somewhere in my heart, I feel a tug of hurt and pain for her.

"Come on sweetie, wake up..." I mutter, half my body holding her still while my one hand moves to her face, gently brushing her hair out her face. The thrashing starts to calm down and so does the moaning, instead, she starts shaking and I notice tears slipping out of the corners of her eyes. Carefully I brush away the tears and continue to gently stroke her face until her eyes open. She sees me, and I see the pain in her eyes. She looks nothing like how she has during class or otherwise, she looks nothing like that strong, hopeful girl walking around. Immediately I scoop her into my arms, and she collapses into me, her arms slipping around my waist and her head burrows itself into my chest. 

"It's okay, shhh it's okay," I whisper softly into her hair, my hand stroking her hair gently as I feel her shaking and the tugging feeling of a cracking heart starts up again in my chest as I hear her gasp in pain.

"It's okay honey... it's okay... shhh," I continue to whisper. I look up and see Yue and Jinora looking in nervously. I mouth a 'thank you' and gesture for them to close the door, which they do reluctantly. I sit with Korra clinging to me and I continue to hold her and whisper that everything's okay and that she's safe into her dark hair for several minutes. The shaking and gasping slow down to a stop and slowly

Korra pulls away and pulls herself into a sitting position. Tear stains run down her cheeks and her eyes hold so much pain that I feel a hand tighten on my heart, and I resist the urge to brush away the tears dripping off her chin.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, resistant to look at me.

"Oh, honey..." I say quietly, moving my hand to rest over hers, causing her to look at me,” you have nothing to be sorry for."

"It’s..." her eyes glance at the alarm clock on Yue's desk, "2 a.m."

"Honey I told you I don't mind," I say softly, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"Did... did I wake everyone up?" She asks, and I can see that she's on the edge of tears again.

"Only a few girls on this floor, but I’ll speak to them. I'll tell them to respect your privacy and do not talk about it," I say, and she nods, pursing her lips to prevent more tears.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask softly as she pulls her hand out from under mine and wipes her face.

"Talk about what," she says.

"What do you dream about when you have these nightmares?" I ask, gently, trying not to push, but I know she needs to talk to someone, and I get the sense that she hasn't had someone she feels comfortable enough to talk to, and if I can be the one she confides in and it helps her, then I most definitely want to be here for her.

"Do you really want to know?" She asks quietly, still looking down at her lap, reluctant to look at me. I reach forward and touch her face gently, making her look at me.

"Honey, talk to me," I say quietly, and retract my hand. She holds my gaze for several seconds and I see her eyes begin to shimmer with tears again.

"Okay," she chokes, fresh tears falling down. Quickly she wipes them away and takes a deep, shaky breath and I wake for her to gather herself together enough to talk.

"I... I dream I'm back in the car, back at the accident... it just replays in my head over... and over... the exact same way it happened and I see it all over again, the fight before the truck hit, the car spinning and glass flying until the second car hit. the car spinning into a ditch and flipping over and over again and eventually coming to a stop... seeing their faces, their eyes open and lifeless... and it feels so real and I can't close my eyes, I can't look away... I can't wake up..." as she speaks, I see the pain filling her eyes and spilling out with every tear, and she's shaking again. Before I know what, I'm doing I'm pulling her into me again, and she doesn't resist, she slips her arms around me and buries her head in my neck. I hold her tight, gently rocking her. I feel tears running down my neck and collar bone, but I don't mind. I stroke her hair and let her cry until she's ready to pull back.

"Thank you," she says as she wipes her face clear of tears again, and I notice there's no longer pain or weakness in her eyes, she looks normal, just less smiley and more serious, and her eyes are slightly red, along with her cheeks.

"Of course," I say, smiling at her softly, “thank you for telling me." She smiles at me, her gratitude showing clearly in her eyes.

"Are you going to be okay?" I ask, and she nods.

"I should be fine," she says, taking another deep breath. I stand and cross over to the door and open it.

"I'll be back now, I'm just going to go find Yue and Jinora," I say, and she nods. I leave the room and walk through the passages to the room I’m fairly sure Jinora sleeps in, I assume Yue is with her. I knock and as I wait, I lift my hand to my neck where the tears had slid down. It still feels wet and I gently wipe it dry. Look at my fingers, which are wet from the salty water, that girl... I can't imagine how she's feeling. I think to myself sadly.

The door opens and sure enough, Jinora is standing there, with her roommate and Yue sitting on the two beds.

"Thank you Jinora and Yue for getting the others to get back to bed," I say stepping inside.

"Sure thing Miss. Is Korra okay?" Yue asks, standing.

"She's okay now, she just gets really bad nightmares. Can I ask that you all please don't ask her about it and respect her privacy and don't treat her any differently okay?" I ask, and they nod eagerly. I'm well aware that all my girls respect and look up to me and will do what I ask them to do.

"Of course, Miss Sato," Jinora says.

"Thank you, girls, now you two go to bed and get some sleep," I say to them.

"Goodnight Miss Sato," they say as I switch off their light. "Goodnight," I say and close the door softly.

"I'm sorry I woke you, Miss Sato," Yue says apologetically as we make our way back to her room.

"Don't be silly, I'm glad you did. I told you too," I say.

"Was it really a nightmare Miss Sato?" Yue asks, concerned.

"Yes, it was, if it happens again just quickly come get me like you did tonight, don't hesitate," I say, and we arrive at her room. Korra is already asleep, curled in a ball facing the wall. Yue quietly gets into bed and I carefully make my way over to Korra and lean over her to see her face. She looks peaceful, and I smile to myself. I pull back and quietly walk out the room, switching off the light.

"Goodnight Miss," Yue whispers as I close the door.

"Sleep well Yue," I whisper back as the door closes. I make my way downstairs and back to my room, feeling tired again now that the commotion has died down. As I walk, I wonder what she meant by "the fight before the truck hit", and I consider how I could ask her what she meant by that sentence.

I walk into my room and close the door behind me, locking it. I return to my bed, untying my robe and throwing it back over my desk chair and climb back into bed. However, I don't fall asleep right away, instead I lay awake thinking about Korra. I knew from the second I met her that she wasn't all that she put forward to be, I knew there was something deep to her. I was shocked when Zhu Li told me to keep an eye on Korra because eight months ago she was in an accident that killed her entire family and she saw it all and was the only one to survive. I couldn't believe that a girl who looks so fine on the outside had just gone through something so life-changing and traumatic. Even on her first night when she was playing guitar and singing, I couldn't help and stare and this strong girl in front of me, not knowing how she was feeling on the inside. I could never imagine what it would be like losing everyone you cared about at the same time and watching it happen. I admire her, her strength and will to live, but after seeing her break down and feeling her clutch me and sob brokenly into my neck I now know that she is still hurting, she still living through the pain, she's just trying to push it away and move on. I feel happy that she could talk to me, and I'm determined to help her through this. I care deeply about my girls, and even though Korra is new I care about her too, and I'll do whatever I can to help her.

***

"Good morning Asami," Zhu Li greets me as I take my usual seat next to her at breakfast.

"Good morning Zhu Li, sleep well?" I greet her back.

"Didn't do much sleeping," she winks at me, "Varrick got home last night from his business trip."

"That explains the glow," I nudge her, giving a teasing look and she laughs.

"How was your night?" She asks, and I think back to my dealings with Korra. Just as I'm about to tell her about Korra and her nightmare the bell rings, calling for silence. As Misses Hou-Ting says the announcements I find myself searching the many heads of girls for Korra’s, I'm not sure why, I don't even know why I'm bothering to try to find her in the first place, in this hall filled with over 800 girls it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Yet, somehow my eyes find and rest upon her dark brown locks, and her eyes lock with mine. Even though she's several tables away I know she's staring at me, I don't know how I know, I just feel it, and I know she knows I'm looking at her too. I look away and listen like I should've been doing since the beginning of the announcements.

"What were you saying, dear?" Zhu Li says after our breakfasts have been set down.

"I wasn't saying anything," I say, which is true, but Zhu Li being the psychologist she is can tell when I want to say something.

"Then what were you about to say?" She asks while pouring her tea. I hesitate. I know I should tell Zhu Li about Korra’s nightmare last night, after all, she is going to be the girl’s psychologist and she should know if she is going to help her. On the other hand, if Zhu Li asks

Korra about her nightmare she will know I told Zhu Li, and she might be angry or feel like she can no longer trust me, and I don't want that. I shake my head, I must tell Zhu Li, it's the right thing to do as a teacher and I need to think like a teacher.

"It's about Korra," I say.

"Yes? What about her?" She says, buttering her toast.

"Last night she had a nightmare. She warned me she might have them and I told her roommate to wake me if she did. She was convulsing and drenched in sweat when I arrived, it took a bit to wake her," I say, pouring my own tea.

"Interesting, that you for telling me. I'll bring it up in our session today. What was she like when she woke up? Did she tell you what her dream was about?" She asks, before biting into her toast. Again, I hesitate, considering if it is truly necessary to tell Zhu Li what Korra said she dreams about. I decide against it.

"She was slightly emotional," I say, adjusting the truth, “and no, when I asked her what she dreamt about she said she doesn't remember when she wakes up, and she seemed like she was telling the truth."

"Interesting... thank you Asami. Otherwise, does it look like she is coping in class? Is she making friends?" She asks while we eat.

"She seems fine in class, she's actually shown a lot of interest and talent for literature," I say, sipping my tea,” and I've seen her getting dose with a few girls."

"Good," she says, and I change the topic back to Varrick returning from his business trip.

After breakfast I make my way to my first class, grade 10s, greet girls left and right. I remember coming to this school when I was in my teens and having a young female Math teacher that I adored, admired, and aspired to be like, and if I had known that I'd end up being the young female teacher that all the girls loved and respected and saw as a role model I would have been delighted. I am delighted. It makes me smile every time one of them asks me for advice on something, whether it's about their relationship or what they should do about applying to university. I love how they trust me enough to ask me to join their groups and tell me all about their drama and gossip, and I adore the fact they all try their hardest to be my favorite, however I refuse to be bias. I care for them all the same.

***

I sigh and rest my head on my folded arms, after teaching the year 11s I often feel this way. I don't understand why that girl P’Li has to be so difficult, and so mean to her classmate On Ji. I've tried to deal with P’Li for the past two years, but the girl is more than stubborn. She is the only girl I've ever taught at this school who does not like me.

I hear a knocking at my door and quickly look up, straightening myself. I look towards the door to see an athletic, tanned, dark-haired girl politely waiting at the entrance. I smile.

"Sorry Miss, I didn't mean to disturb you," she says, apologetically.

"You didn't, don't worry," I reply, gesturing for her to enter, “what can I do for you, honey?"

"I just want to say thank you," she says, entering and walking across the classroom towards me.

"For what?" I ask as she pulls up a chair towards my desk and sits down.

"Well for a lot actually, for last night firstly... I'm sorry I was so emotional, I'm not usually like that," she says, looking down at her hands, obviously embarrassed.

"If you weren't emotionally after everything you've been through, especially dreaming and experiencing it over again, I'd be a little worried about you," I say, standing and walking around my desk. She looks up at me and watches me walk towards her and pull up a chair so I can sit closer to her,” you have nothing to be embarrassed about."

"I also want to say thank you for not telling Misses Moon what my nightmare was about... I've never told anybody about it before and I really appreciate you not telling her," she says, and I immediately feel relief washing over me that I made the right call not telling Zhu Li about Korra’s nightmare.

"Of course, honey," I say, reaching over and squeezing her hand,” you can trust me, I promise you that."

I notice her stiffen and look at my hand over hers, so I retract it, in case it was because it made her uncomfortable. She looks up at me and smiles gratefully.

"You must get a lot of girls coming to you and telling you about the tragedies in their lives," she laughs and I smile at that.

"I do, but I don't mind. I like knowing that you girls can come to me with anything, it's part of my job," I say.

"Can I be honest?" She asks, and I chuckle.

"No," I say jokingly, and she gives me a look, but I see the smile on her lips.

"Of course, you can," I say, and she smiles fully now. I feel a slight sense of satisfaction that I caused that smile. She does have a really nice smile; I think to myself unconsciously.

"I don't feel so comfortable talking to Misses Moon... well really I don't feel comfortable talking to any psychologist, so don't get me wrong, Misses Moon is very nice, I just feel so pressured in there, and it feels very impersonal," she says, and I wait for her to continue, I can see she's having trouble talking and I wonder if it's because it's a personal topic, and then I wonder if it's hard for her to talk because she's never really found someone to open up too, "and well.. um I don't know how to say this... well I'd prefer if I knew I could be able to talk to, well, you... just if I need someone to talk to... and I mean I understand if it's too much pressure on you or you're too busy so I totally understand if you say no-"

"Honey, of course you can come talk to me," I interrupt her, smiling. She's struggling very hard to get out her words now, which is surprisingly cute. I feel happy knowing that she trusts me and that she wants me to be the one she talks to. She looks up at me, surprised.

"Really?" She asks, and I smile at her reassuringly.

"Yes, I'm very sure," I say, "about anything. You should feel comfortable with the person you talk to, and I can tell this is hard for you, asking for help. I feel honored."

She looks down again when I mention that it must be hard for her to ask help, confirming that I'm right. A small part of my heart breaks, how on earth is she keeping it together like this? How strong has she had to be for herself these last months?

"Korra I'm serious," I say, causing her to look back up at me,” feel free to come talk to me about anything. I'm mostly in the library in my free time, and if I'm not there you can find me in the rose garden in the front."

I watch her cerulean eyes fill with relief and happiness, which brings the same feelings to my heart. I hope I have made her feel safe like she can trust me.

"Thank you," she says quietly, a very serious look crossing her face, and I know she means it.

'You're welcome," I say, gently touching her leg to let her know I mean it. Again, I feel her stiffen under my touch, and this time I notice a slight pink tinge in her cheeks. Strange... I think to myself, but dismiss it, however I draw back my hand, in case that is how she reacts when uncomfortable. Maybe she just needs to get comfortable with me first.

"Well Miss, I think I'll leave you to get back to your nap," she says, standing, giving me a playful, teasing grin, which I decide is a cute look on her. I stand with her.

"I was not napping," I laugh.

"Sure Miss, whatever you say," she says, and I chuckle and shake my head at her.

"Goodbye Miss Sato, I'll see you later," she says, pausing at the door.

"I'll see you later Korra," I say, and watch her leave. Suddenly I frown, did I realty just think her smile was cute? And did I realty just decide that a playful, teasing smile is a good look for my student? Asami I don't think those thoughts are appropriate to be having about your student... but I mean I didn't mean them in that type of way, did I? No of course not why am I even considering that. I was just acknowledging she has a nice smile and she looks nice smiling. I think to myself, only now realizing the casual thoughts that went through my mind during my conversation with Korra. I shake my head and dismiss and forget the thoughts as I pull up a stack of homework papers I need to mark.


	5. Chapter 5

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 5  
\--  
Korra's POV

Misses Moon's office is very much like Principal Hou-Ting’s office, only slightly smaller and it has a large comfortable couch facing an armchair with a fancy glass coffee table in between, on top of which sits a box of tissues two glasses next to a jug of water. A classic psychologist’s setup.

"How are you today Korra?" Misses Moon starts, and I try to not cringe. I've been to my fair share of psychologists in the past 8 months, and it looks like this one will be no different. I take a deep breath and remind myself to at least give this a chance.

"I'm doing alright," I say honestly. I think back to 2 a.m. this morning. Somehow after opening up to Miss Sato in my emotional state and feeling her hold me and whisper to me that everything will be okay, somehow that has made me feel a lot better than I have in a long time. I surprised myself when I opened up to her, and when I let myself break down in front of her, I haven't done that with anyone since the accident, even before then the only person I'd break down in front of was my mother. Something about Miss Sato makes me feel like I can trust her, makes me feel safe.

"How are you finding the classes here? Difficult? Easy?" She asks.

"They're alright, no problems so far," I reply, knowing that my short answers are going to cause her to think I'm holding back or I'm lying. I know psychologists and how they work by now.

"And the girls? Made any friends yet?" She pushes, her eyes searching me as I answer each question.

"Yeah, the girls have all been nice so far, I've made a few possible friends," I say.

"Miss Sato tells me you had a nightmare last night, she says you were rather difficult to wake up, and that you were convulsing and covered in a cold sweat in your sleep," she says, crossing a leg over the other. I feel my heart sink. I knew Miss Sato would tell Misses Moon about the nightmare, but I hoped she wouldn't share what I told her about my dream. That was personal.

"Yeah, I get them sometimes," I say, stiffly. I'm starting to feel slightly uncomfortable. Misses Moon notices.

"What was your dream about?" She asks. Does this mean Miss Sato didn't tell her? Or does it mean she wants to hear it from me herself? I think to myself before answering.

"I told Miss Sato," I say simply, watching Misses Moon's reaction now.

"She says you told her that you can't remember your dreams when you wake up, is that true?" She asks and I feel relief flood through me, and I thank Miss Sato silently in my head. I knew I could trust her.

"Yeah," I say, and she nods slowly.

The rest of the session passes by slowly, Misses Moon asking me questions about how I feel about moving countries and leaving my old life behind. I give her as vague answers as I can so that I don't have to lie but at the same time I don't have to talk about my personal life. She also asks me what my relationship is like with my godfather and how I feel knowing he is my guardian now. By the time our session is up I've never felt more eager to leave a room, but I try not to show it.

"Korra," Misses Moon says, standing and crossing over to me just as I'm about to leave, my hand resting on the handle of the door.

"Yes, Misses Moon?" I ask, turning back to her.

"I've been told by your old psychologists that you don't like talking and you don't open up," she says, and I stay quiet, “but it's healthy to talk to someone. If it's not me you open up to, at least give someone you trust a chance."

I nod slowly and she gives me an encouraging smile. I turn and leave, but her words stick with me. I walk slowly across the courtyard, thinking about what she said. In the past eight months I have not found anyone I trust enough to open up too, nor have I wanted to talk to anyone about how I really feel. I've always told myself that it's unnecessary, and I can manage and find peace on my own, but last night with Miss Sato felt different, it felt like she actually cares, and for the first time I actually felt comfortable opening up to her. It made me feel even better knowing that she really is trustworthy, she didn't tell Misses Moon about what was in my nightmare, and she easily could've told her, any other teacher or adult or possibly even student would've. I look up at her classroom, and I bite my lip. Maybe I should open up to someone, and if there is anyone in this world I would open up to, I've decided it would be Miss Sato.

I walk towards her classroom door, which is open, and I enter. I notice that her head is resting on her arms on her desk as if she is sleeping. I pause and knock on her door, and she quickly looks up, startled, and sees me.

"Sorry Miss, I didn't mean to disturb you," I say, apologetically, feeling slightly bad.

"You didn't, don't worry," she replies, smiling that beautiful smile that causes my stomach to do a few flips. She gestures for me to enter, “What can I do for you, honey?"

"I just want to say thank you," I say, entering and walking across the classroom towards her.

"For what?" She asks as I pull up a chair towards her desk and sit down.

"Well for a lot actually, for last night firstly... I'm sorry I was so emotional, I'm not usually like that," I say, looking down at my hands, feeling nervous and embarrassed. I wonder to myself if I really should be doing this, asking Miss Sato for help, I mean what if she says no? What if she's too busy or if she's tired of having to listen to girls complain about their lives or over emotionally talk about their tragic pasts.

"If you weren't emotionally after everything you've been through, especially dreaming and experiencing it over again, I'd be a little worried about you," she says, standing and walking around her desk. I look up at her and watch her walk gracefully towards me and pull up a chair and sits, and of course, I notice how much closer we are. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about."

It still baffles me how calm and accepting she is, and how it’s not only her voice that holds so much care and kindness, but also her eyes. I start to feel the same safe feeling now that I felt last night as she held me while I cried.

"I also want to say thank you for not telling Misses Moon what my nightmare was about... I've never told anybody about it before and I really appreciate you not telling her," I say, and I notice a flash of emotions run through her facial features. Relief? I'm not sure, I can't put my finger on it.

"Of course, honey," she says, reaching over and squeezing my hand, which of course causes my heart to start pounding faster and for my body to stiffen, “You can trust me, I promise you that"

She notices me stiffen and retracts her hand, and I feel my face heat up. Shit, does she know why I stiffened? Does she know I have a crush on her now? I ask myself worriedly, but I dismiss the thought She probably thinks it caught me off guard and she doesn't want to make me uncomfortable.

"You must get a lot of girls coming to you and telling you about the tragedies in their lives," I laugh, changing the topic, and she smiles at that

"I do, but I don't mind. I like knowing that you girls can come to me with anything, it's part of my job," she says, and I feel my heart warm listening to her talk about her students with such care. I take a deep breath and remind myself of what I came here for.

"Can I be honest?" I ask, and she chuckles.

"No," she says teases, and gives me a look, but I can't help but smile, it's really cute when she has a teasing tone and look in her eye.

"Of course, you can," she says, and I smile fully now

"I don't feel so comfortable talking to Misses Moon... well really I don't feel comfortable talking to any psychologist, so don't get me wrong, Misses Moon is very nice, I just feel so pressured in there, and it feels very impersonal," I say, and I struggle to find my words and string them into sentences, I find it so hard to ask something of someone, I just have so much trouble asking for help, “and well... um... I don't really know how to say this... well I'd prefer if I knew I could be able to talk to, well, you... just if I need someone to talk to... and I mean I understand if it's too much pressure on you or you're too busy so I totally understand if you say no-"

"Honey, of course you can come talk to me," She interrupts me, and I look up at her to see her smiling. I feel surprised, part of me thought she was going to tell me that it would be best if I just spoke to a professional.

"Really?" I ask, and she smiles at me with a reassuring look.

"Yes, I'm very sure," she says," you can talk to me about anything. You should feel comfortable with the person you talk to, and I can tell this is hard for you, asking for help. I feel honored."

I look down again when she mentions it being hard for me to ask for help, but also hearing her say she feels honored that I asked her makes my heart leap for joy, does she really feel honored?

"Korra I'm serious," She says, causing me to look back up at her, “Feel free to come talk to me about anything. I'm mostly in the library in my free time, and if I'm not there you can find me in the rose garden in the front."

I look up at her and feel myself fill up with happiness and gratitude, hearing her say that made my day, screw that, it made my week. She makes me feel so safe, something I haven't felt in a while.

"Thank you," I say quietly and very seriously, I want her to know how much it means to me.

"You're welcome," She says, gently touching my leg, and I feel a shiver run up and through my body at her touch, causing me to stiffen again. This time I feel a blush showing on my cheeks, and she notices and retracts her hand, and a small part of me misses her touch.

"Well Miss, I think I'll leave you to get back to your nap," I say, standing, giving her a playful, teasing grin.

"I was not napping," She laughs, standing with me.

"Sure Miss, whatever you say," I say, and she chuckles and shakes her head at me. I try to mentally capture the sound of her laugh, which gives me goosebumps. I walk towards the door but pause at the door frame and look back at her, seeing that she's already returned to her seat behind her desk, her eyes remaining on me, however.

"Goodbye Miss Sato, I'll see you later,' I say, wondering to myself how she manages to get her hair to look so perfect.

"I’ll see you later Korra," she says, and I leave with a satisfied smile on my face. I see Jinora talking to Yue across the courtyard, and they see me. We walk over to each other and Jinora gives me a hug, which I return.

"How are you feeling?" Jinora asks, not to seriously but you can see she cares. When I woke up this morning I was dreading having to deal with people, I thought that all the potential friends I had made over the past two days wouldn't want anything to do with me, but Jinora and Yue acted as if nothing had happened, and even told several girls off for whispering behind my back. They assured me not to worry about anything and that soon people would forget all about the incident. I'm really grateful for them, and I know now that Jinora and Yue are definitely people I confused my friends now.

"I'm doing alright," I say giving her a smile, “and you two?"

"I'm good, we're just talking about this guy that Yue met during the holidays and who she's been talking to for the past few days over WhatsApp. He just asked her to be his date for his end of school dance!"

We head out of the courtyard and find a table under some trees and continue to discuss Yue’s love interest and other things. At some point, Miss Sato exits the courtyard archway, obviously on her way to the library. I watch her walk as the other two girls talk, her calf muscles flexing with each step, her arms clutching her books to her chest, her raven hair being blown slightly by the light breeze, revealing her sharp jawline and the beautiful curve of her neck I watch her go and wonder to myself how it's even possible to develop this sort of crazy crush so quickly. 

The days that lead up to Friday night consist of class, homework in the afternoons, and hanging out with either Yue and Jinora or Jin and Song. Occasionally I spent time Ty Lee and Suki. Twice more Kuvira tries to trick me into telling her where my preferences lie when it comes to girls and boys, and both times I leave her frustratedly hanging. Kuvira, Kori, June, and some other girls from that rebellious group do invite me out to go smoke with them on Thursday night, however, I decline politely, not wanting trouble for myself in my first week. The math teacher, Mr. Gyatso, soon realizes my talents for his subject and challenges me more to see how much I know. He is impressed that I meet his challenges with success. Mr. Fire also realizes my talent for art, and to the jealousy of all the other girls in the class, spends a good fifteen minutes asking me where I learned to paint and draw, and asking me if I had seen the latest expedition at the Tate Modern in London, which I said I had not.

Yue must have also told the Music teacher, Mr. Jeong, that I can play guitar and sing, because he too tested my ability to read and write music, and just like the other teachers were impressed with the outcome. The only teacher I failed to impress was the French teacher, who has seemed to take a liking to pick on me in her classes, much to Azula's approval.

My favorite classes however remain to be English and Literature and are the only ones that I am actually excited to attend. Miss Sato seems to suit everything she wears, whether it’s a white summer dress and sandals or a pencil skirt with a blouse. I can't decide if I prefer her hair up and in a loose bun, with a few stray locks tucked behind her ear or if I like it down, often tossed over to one side as she reads with her head titled.

Luckily, I don't have another nightmare, however both Jinora and Yue buckle from holding back their questions about what happened on Wednesday night, and beg me to tell them. Reluctantly I tell them that a while ago (I don't mention how recently) I lost my family in a car accident and that it had a traumatic effect on me, and that's why I have nightmares. Both are shocked but respectfully don't ask any further questions, and nod when I ask them not to tell anyone or treat me any differently.

After school on Friday, a realized that a large majority of the year 12s, who are the only year allowed to leave school premises every weekend if they wish, have either caught a bus to Bristol back home or to catch a train to Manchester or London, depending on where they live. The younger years who live in close by towns also have permission to leave campus also go home, and at dinner time I notice how many girls go home on weekends.

"How was your first-week hot stuff?" I hear Kuvira say and look over to see her sitting down next to me with her food at dinner.

"It was good," I say. I wonder how long it's going to take before Kuvira gets bored of flirting with me.

"Hey June, hey Kori," I greet Kuvira’s friends as they take other empty seats next to Kuvira. 

"You know Korra I totally don't blame you if you punch Kuvira, she's relentless," Kori says to me and Kuvira smacks her arm.

"Have you ever gotten with a girl here?" I ask Kuvira after laughing at Kori’s comment.

"Yeah, a few," Kuvira says after swallowing a mouth full of food, “it’s a school of 800 girls, most of which are bicurious or wanting to experiment, of course, I get action."

“Any other out there lesbians or bisexuals?" I ask.

"Why? Am I not good enough for you?" Kuvira says, winking and I roll my eyes.

"I'm just curious," I say, “I thought there would be a lot of homophobic people at this school"

"There's a couple of homophobic people, but I mean it's 2020, homosexuality is pretty accepted now, even in religions," Kori says, and I nod.

"Although some of the older teachers and staff are not pleased if they catch two girls getting at it, Kuvira once got a month of detention for getting caught," June says and I laugh.

"Yeah, but the detention was with Miss Sato, which was a bonus, and she doesn't give a fuck who you sleep with and is pretty against homophobia," Kuvira says, shrugging.

"Ahaha I remember that detention, didn't you hit on her in a few of your sessions and she shut you down?" Kori says, laughing and I grin.

"You did what? What did you say," I ask Kuvira as she hits Kori again for laughing at her.

"She didn't shut me down," Kuvira defends herself before answering my question, “I just asked her if she would ever get with a student"

“And what did she say?” Kori and I laugh, June joining in.

"She said she doesn't see her students like that and that I must hit on someone my own age," she says, “and stop laughing at me, there are others who have hit on her a lot worse, I'm not the only one!"

"Who else has?" I ask before biting into my salad.

"There was a girl who graduated last year, her name was Jackie I think, she had this major crush on Miss Sato, used to write her poems and shit," Kori says while we eat, “but Miss Sato never exposed her or publicly shut her down in front of us, she even told us to stop when we teased Jackie. She always did it privately, told her to be more professional and appropriate, and remember that she is her teacher and will never see her more than just a student."

"That's nice of her, to be private about it," I say, glancing over at the teacher's table and spotting the beautiful raven-haired English teacher talking to Misses Moon.

***

"Heyyyyyyyy," Jin says, poking my sides to surprise me while I'm walking back up to the house after dinner.

"Oh hey," I say, greeting her and Song with a smile.

"Every Friday night is movie night by the way, in case anyone hasn't told you," Jin says.

"No, no one’s told me," I say.

"Apparently we're watching Pride and Prejudice," Song chirps in, “for like the fourth time. But anyways, wanna sit with us?"

"Yeah sure," I accept the offer, but inside I really don't want to. This was my mother's favorite movie, “where is movie night?"

"In the common room," Jin answers, and I frown. I don't remember noticing a TV.

"There's a projector and a white screen that gets pulled down from the ceiling," Song explains when she notices my confusion.

"Yeah we usually watch boring movies like these, but sometimes when Hou-Ting is off-campus visiting her son then Miss Sato will let us vote on a cooler movie," Jin says.

"I'd prefer it if you girls didn't go shouting that out, I might get in trouble," we all turn to see a smiling Miss Sato walking closely behind us. I see Jin blush out of the corner of my eye out of embarrassment for being caught talking about Miss Sato by the woman herself, not that she was saying anything negative.

"Sorry Miss Sato," Jin says embarrassed.

"It's okay sweetie, I was joking. I know none of you would rat me out," she says joining us as we walk up the hill.

"Don't you wanna sit with us during the movie Miss?" Song asks, and I pray for Miss Sato to say yes.

"Sure," she says, and I do a victory dance mentally, “so Song, how are your boy troubles?"

"Oh, Miss Sato don't even get me started," Song groans, and Miss Sato laughs, and my arm hairs stand on end at the beatific sound.

"We talk about mine and Jin's troubles too often," Song says, and turns to me. ‘Oh no,’ I think, knowing what she's about to say, “what about you Korra? Have any boy troubles?"

All three pairs of eyes turn to me, including the light green pair that make my heart leap into my throat.

"Umm I don't have any," I say, laughing nervously.

"Oh, get out of here, you have no boy troubles? No boyfriend? Not even a friend with benefits?" Jin scoffs and pushes.

"Nope," I say, and glance and Miss Sato who is looking at me with interest.

"I find that SOOO hard to believe! I mean look at you! You're gorgeous! I can't even imagine the types of gorgeous guys sliding into your DMs," Song says, shocked.

"I'm very much single," I say, starting to feel slightly uncomfortable. I don't like talking about my personal life.

"What about any crushes? Have you at least got your eye on someone?" Jin asks and I hesitate.

"I guess I do," I say and then regret it, now I'm going to be bombarded with questions.

"There we go! Who? Is he from the city?" Song asks, just as I expected.

"Oh, I know who it is," Jin says smugly and a small part of me panics, even though the logical side of me knows there's no way she knows who it is.

"Who? How would you know?" Song says, turning to her friend.

"It's Mr. Fire isn't it?" Jin says back to me, and Miss Sato laughs at that, and so do I.

"What is with you girls and poor Mr. Fire?" Miss Sato asks, and I'm thankful the spotlight has come off me.

"Oh, come on Miss he's gorgeous!" Jin and Song both swoon. By now we've entered the house and are walking into the common room, where already many of the couches and chairs are occupied and have been turned towards a white screen hanging from the ceiling.

"I think you and Mr. Fire would make the best couple," Jin says to Miss Sato, and she chuckles.

"You girls tell me that all the time," she says shaking her head in amusement.

"Actually, we never talk about YOUR love life Miss Sato," Jin says and I smile, I'd also like to hear this.

"Yes Miss Sato, tell us about your love life! We always tell you about ours!" Song chirps high.

"Girls you know I can't discuss that with you," Miss Sato says chucking as we make our way towards an empty couch with some armchairs around it.

"Please, Miss! We promise we won't tell anyone!" Jin says, giving miss Sato puppy eyes.

"No," Miss Sato continues smiling in amusement.

"Okay fine at least tell us if you're single or not," Song pleads and she hesitates.

"Okay, but that's all I'll answer," she says as she takes a seat in an armchair and we all sit down on a couch.

"Yay!!" Jin and Song celebrate excitedly. The beautiful raven shakes her head smiling.

"I'm single," she says, and inside I celebrate, however absurd that might be. I don't even know why I'm celebrating, it's not like I'll ever have a chance with her. Even if I weren't her student, the age gap might be too big for her. Plus, I'm highly doubtful she's interested romantically or sexually in females.

"Omg Miss Sato seriously? How is that possible?" Jin says, shocked again.

"I said that's all I'd say," she says, and looks at me. I roll my eyes on her behalf and she smiles. The two others groan and beg her to tell them more, but she laughs them off and stands to go switch off the lights and start the movie because all the girls had returned from dinner.

I manage to sit through most of the movie, mostly because I can glance at Miss Sato, who looks breathtaking in the flickering projector like, her concentration fixed on the movie playing in front of us. As a Literature and English teacher, this movie must be gold for her, after all, it is a very famous and well-known book. Being able to look at her helps me calm myself down, especially in the parts of the movie where my mom used to love. However, when we get to the part where Elizabeth and Mr. Darcie are having the argument in the rain, my mother's favorite scene in the whole movie, I can't take it anymore. Quietly I get up and leave quickly, holding in the emotions that make me want to burst into tears and scream in a ball on the floor.

I open and close the front door quietly, not wanting to disturb the movie, even though I know that the sound is too high to allow anyone to hear the door if it closed normally. I take several long breaths and hug myself tightly, tears threatening to fall. I walk a few steps towards the grass and sit down, bringing my knees to my chest and hugging them.

I sit in the near silence for a few minutes, listening only to my shaky breaths and faded sounds of the movie in the house behind me. I feel a lone tear slip down my cheek and I let it, not bothering to wipe it away.

"Everything okay?" A familiar soft voice startles me, and I turn and look up at my English teacher. Quickly I turn my back and raise a hand to my cheek and wipe the tear.

"Yeah I'm fine," I say as she walks over and sits next to me.

"Can you remember our little talk on Wednesday?" She asks rhetorically, meaning the talk we had after my therapy session. I nod anyways.

"Good, I thought you forgot I said you can talk to me when you need," she says, looking up at the stars. I smile, my eyes scanning the beautifully and annoyingly kissable curve of her neck, completely exposed in the pale moonlight. We sit in silence for a while, and I know she's waiting for me to talk on my own terms, which is something I've decided I really like about her.

"Pride and Prejudice was my mother’s favorite movie," I say, and she turns her gaze away from the stars to look at me, “for some reason around Christmas time she always had trouble sleeping. I've gotten that from her. So, we used to sit up almost every night and watch Pride and Prejudice over and over until we fell asleep. It was the only movie she never got bored of."

She doesn't say anything, which I'm fine with. She doesn't need to say anything and being able to have someone who I can finally tell these things too. Even just telling her something as simple as this has made the little tight ball that had developed in my heart was starting to loosen. I have no idea how or why she has this type of soothing effect on me, even though she's just sitting next to me, nothing more.

"Would you like to talk about something else?" She asks after several long moments, and I know she means a lighter topic. She knows how hard it is for me to talk about this kind of thing... mentally I thank her for being so considerate. I nod.

"So, no boy troubles?" She asks lightly, resuming the conversation we were part of before the movie started. I laugh lightly.

"No boy troubles," I say chuckling.

"Girl troubles?" She asks, startling me. I look at her surprised, how on earth did she guess that? She sees my expression and laughs.

"How on earth..." I begin to voice my thoughts.

"I guessed," she says, and I shake my head with my eyebrows raised, impressed.

"Soo, girl trouble?" She says, bumping my knee with hers.

"You could put it that way," I say laughing, wondering if she had 'guessed' who my 'crush' is, but then again if she had would she really be asking me this question?

"Tell me," she says, plucking a blade of grass and twirling it between her delicate fingers.

"Maybe I will if you tell me why you're single," I tease, and she groans and flicks the piece of grass at me.

"Not you too," she says dramatically.

"I'm only joking," I say laughing, “if you must know, she's out of my league."

"Out of your league?" She says, raising an eyebrow doubtfully. Is she complimenting me? I take that as a compliment.

"Mmhmm," I say, plucking my own blade of grass and watching it. It’s not that I'm lying, Miss Sato is out of my league on many levels.

"Who is she? Angelina Jolie?" She jokes and I grin.

"No, Angelina Jolie has nothing on this person," I say, again, not lying. I know I've got her interested now because she's paying me her full attention.

"Come on you have to tell me who she is now," she says, and I glance at her, giving her a sly teasing smile. Just then the front door opens and we both turn around to see a girl standing in the doorway.

"Miss, the projector switched off," she says, and Miss Sato sighs and pushes herself to her feet.

"You'd think a bunch of millennials would know how to switch on a projector," she mutters, and I laugh, standing too, feeling better, the tight ball in my chest completely gone now.

I follow the girl and Miss Sato back inside, but instead of returning to the common room, I make my way towards the staircase.

“Goodnight Korra,” Miss Sato calls to me, and I turn and smile at her before she disappears into the common room. I smile to myself the entire way up to my room and I continue smiling and thinking about the graceful, eye-catching, heart-stopping, breathtaking, stomach flipping English teacher until I fall asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 6  
\--  
Korra's POV

I wake up unnecessarily early on Saturday, but when I'm awake I can't go back to sleep, especially in the mornings, so instead, I finish off my math homework, which took the exact amount of time to finish between me waking up and breakfast time. I don't wait for Yue, who had already woken up way before me to go to the gym, and I know she finishes training a few minutes after breakfast starts so instead, I make my way to the dining hall for breakfast.

As I walk down, I'm joined by Ty Lee and On Ji, which I'm fine with because I'm not in the mood to talk and Ty Lee does enough talking for all three of us. On Ji is still very shy and quiet around me, although I do notice her staring and glancing at me often. Another thing I notice about On Ji is cuts on her arms, fresh ones, peeking out momentarily from her sleeve once while we're walking. I feel a slight worry and concern and wonder if there's anything I could do to help her, maybe she just needs another friend. I give myself a mental note to corner Ty Lee later and ask her about the self-harm on On Ji’s arm.

As soon as we walk into the dining hall my eyes immediately, as if they are controlled by my heart, shoot towards the teacher's table and scan the faces until I find the one that belongs to Miss Sato. I realize for the first time that I actually haven't bothered to try to figure out her first name, and at this thought, my mind starts scrambling through lists of names that hers could possibly be.

"Hey Korra," Song greets me, taking a seat at the table Ty Lee, On Ji, and I are seated at, "Hey Ty Lee, hi On Ji."

"Hey, Song," I reply, before automatically looking around for Jin, after all, I have never seen the two apart since I met them, "Where's Jin?"

"Oh, she goes home every second weekend to see her family, but mostly her boyfriend," she explains, and I nod. Soon I drone out of the conversation that starts up between Ty Lee and Song about some incident that happened in their chemistry class and starts mentally listing all the things I should do today. First, write my French essay and complete the worksheet she gave us, second will be to do research and write out a biology project. After that, it'll probably be lunch, and maybe I should take a walk around the grounds for a break, after all, I have yet been to the orchid or rose gardens.

After breakfast, I decline an invitation to go play chess on the giant chess board that is apparently behind the science block with Ty Lee, On Ji, and Song, and head back up to my room. An hour into my French homework and I’m already bored, which gives me an idea to go work in the library, maybe a change in the scene would help me concentrate... but mostly because I might see Miss Sato.

Much to my happiness, Miss Sato is sorting out books and returning them to their shelves when I arrive. She smiles at me from the top of a ladder when I enter and I return my smile, my heart pounding against my rib cage from just the sight of her. I don't think I'll ever get sick of seeing her smile. I take a seat at one of the study tables and I take out my textbook and resume my studying, throwing the occasional longing glance at my literature teacher. She looks like she was hand-carved by the Greek goddess of beauty and love Aphrodite herself. Today she's wearing clothes that are a little less formal from the ones she's been wearing during the week. A pair of dark blue skinny jeans cover her legs, which are obviously well exercised. On her top half, she's wearing a casual red and black flannel, rolled up to her elbows. Somehow, even in such simple casual clothes, she still manages to take my breath away and make my heart race.

As I study and throw longing glances at her I notice smaller things she does that just makes my crush grow, things like how she brushes stray strands of hair out her eyes, how she traces her lips with her fingers when she's thinking, how her eyebrows furrow and her head tilts ever so slightly when she's reading and contemplating.

Eventually, I do get properly stuck in my work, but not the work I planned to do. All this glancing and thinking about Miss Sato has made me want to complete her homework, which is a poem analysis for literature and a creative essay for English.

"There aren't many students who will spend their Saturdays in the library doing homework," I hear the soul calming voice interrupt me. I realize I've gotten so into the poem that I've started doing the thing I do when I'm concentrating deeply, which is rubbing my left ear lobe with my left forefinger and thumb. I look up to see her watching me curiously, an amused look on her face, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth and eyes. I lower my hand quickly and grin shyly, wondering to myself how long she's been watching me.

"Yeah, I have the awful teacher, such a cow, gives us such complicated work," I say dramatically, and she walks around to see what I'm doing. I try to keep it cool as she leans over me to see what subject I'm working on, trying not to breathe her intoxicating scent in too deeply. She realizes I'm talking about her own class and she smacks my arms in a playful manner, gasping at me jokingly. I laugh. She narrows her eyes at me but fails to hide the smile still lingering on her lips.

"So how come you don't go home for the weekends?" She asks, walking back around the study table and plucking more books out a box on the desk, scanning their spines for the author's name and title.

"No reason too," I say, and her eyes shoot up to me, scanning my face, trying to read my face.

"I mean I don't really have any friends in the city, all I'd be doing is sitting around in a massive penthouse," I say, and she nods slowly, understanding.

"You could go explore the city," she says, walking over to one of the taller shelves and moves the ladder across, and my eyes travel down to her ass unconsciously as she starts to climb it. I shake my head and force my eyes away in respect. 

"I already had two weeks to do that, I saw everything I wanted to see," I say, but honestly the reason I didn't want to go 'home' is because I don't want to face the fact that London is now my 'home'.

"You mean you had two weeks to go see the tourist attractions," she says looking over her shoulder at me as she climbs back down the ladder.

"There is so much more to London than Big Ben and St Paul's Cathedral," she says to me, fetching more books, “you need a proper guide to show the cities heart."

"I'll try to find one," I say. I can't help wonder if she was offering, but don't want to ask if she was offering in case that would be too inappropriate.

"Now get back and do my homework," she says, winking, a teasing smile lifting the one corner of her mouth up. Okay, that look is way too sexy to be real... that wink... holy shit…I think, mouthing a 'wow' to myself with wide eyes when she turns away and heads off to another corner of the library. 

I finish all my literature and English homework by the time its lunch, so I pack my stuff away and drop it off at my room before heading down to the eating hall. I join Yue and Jinora's table, and they all greet me with smiles. I have to say that I thought an all-girls school but so far mostly everyone has been incredibly nice. 

"After lunch do you want to have a jamming session?" Yue asks while we're eating.

"Yeah, sounds good," I accept, knowing I need a break from work

"Jinora," Yue says, interrupting Jinora's conversation, "Korra and I are going to have a jamming session after lunch, do you want to join?"

"Yeah! Sounds great, should we go to the year 11s common room so we can hang out with Suki and On Ji?" Jinora says, and Yue turns to me and waits for me to say so. I laugh and shrug.

"I'm good with anything," I say and they smile and start talking about what songs we should sing.

After lunch, we head back up to the houses and I follow Yue and Jinora into the year 11s house, which is similar to ours, except where we have our kitchen they have a study room, and Their common room is also not as nice. After a while of messing around and showing each other different things on the guitar we find our 'sound' and start singing and playing music together, and the more into each song we get the happier and peaceful I feel, and before I know it nearly two hours have gone by.

"Wow you guys are incredible," Suki, who had been sitting and watching us with the quiet girl On Ji, says, "you should start a school band or something!!"

"Yeah no I disagree," a cool voice says, and I turn to see a younger copy of Azula standing with two bitchy looking basic white girls, "could you guys go practice or whatever somewhere else? Some of us are trying to have a conversation here and are now having to leave."

"Shut up P’Li," Snaps Jinora, rolling her eyes.

"I will when you do Jinora," Snarls this P’Li girl I set down the guitar I was playing and stand and walk calmly towards the young bitch, who looks at me with eyebrows raised, an unimpressed and bored look on her face.

"And you are?" She asks, scanning me up and down, trying way too hard to be intimidating.

"Someone who can literally smell your makeup," I say, wrinkling my nose. She glowers at me.

"Whatever new girl, where'd you come from? The land and ugly fucks?" She snaps back.

"Oh please, I can remove 90% of your beauty with a Kleenex wipe, and that wouldn't be a problem if you had a nice personality, however, you don't. So how about you leave and take your bitchiness with you?" I say, painfully sweetly, giving her an extremely sarcastic smile.

"Listen," she says, stepping closer to me, “I don't know who the fuck you think you are but don't mess with m-

"I don't care about your empty threats," I interrupt her, clearly judging by the surprised look on her face she's not used to being interrupted or stood up too, “but don't be mean to my friends."

I raise my eyebrow at her expectantly, but she doesn't say anything, obviously too taken by me.

"Thanks for the session girls, I'll see you later, I'm going to go study. This was fun, definitely keen to do it again," I say over my shoulder to the group of now wide-eyed and shocked girls who moments ago I was singing with. I push past P’Li and her minions and walk out of the house, taking a deep breath. Why is there always a hand full of bitches at every school? Why can't everyone just be nice?

Feeling slightly angry and ruffled up I don't walk back towards my dorm house. Instead, I walk down towards the main school buildings, deciding it would be best if I cooled off before trying to study. Without really knowing where I'm going, I just walk, and after several long minutes, I find myself at the entrance to the orchid garden. I remember the day I arrived, nearly a week ago, and seeing a hedge wall. This must be what is on the other side of that hedge wall.

I walk in and look around. Rows of apple trees, plum trees, peach trees, lemon trees, and many others stretch from left to right and from where I stand to wherever the end is. I walk through the trees and take deep breaths, forgetting completely about the incident with P’Li earlier and about my annoyance following. A few minutes later and I come to the end of the orchid and find a large rose garden, where a few girls are watering or sitting on benches amongst the colorful flowers reading or talking. I wonder how it is that I've been at Kyoshi Academy for a whole week yet I haven't managed to come across this orchid and rose garden before. 

Noticing another hedge archway on the other side of the rose garden, I make my through the roses, returning smiles to girls who wave at me or say hi I walk through the archway in the hedge wall and almost laugh. In the corner is a chicken wire pen, filled with chickens, and next to it is another enclosure with bunnies and guinea pigs. There are also rows of vegetable beds filled with cabbages, lettuce, and all types of other leafy greens and herbs. My eyes find a woman wearing dark skinny jeans, a red and white flannel, a summer straw hat with her raven hair tied in a ponytail. The butterflies in my chest go into a frenzy and my heart beats faster as I feel excitement flood through me.

"I wasn't aware that you are a farmer," I say when I reach Miss Sato. She straightens and looks around and up at me, and I feel my heart drop at how beautiful she looks, even with her face shining with sweat and covered with dirt marks. She smiles when she sees it's me.

"Hello Korra," she greets, pulling off a gardening glove and picking up a bottle of water next to her, standing at she does so.

"Hello Miss Sato," I greet back, and gesture for her to pass me the bottle so I can open it for her after seeing her struggle with the one hand still with a glove on it.

"Thank you," she says, handing it to me. I open it and hand it back to her, trying not to feel jealous of a damn bottle of water as she tilts her head and presses it to her lips and takes a sip.

"No problem," I say, returning a smile she gives me.

"Every year I help the year 7s make a vegetable bed and grow vegetables and herbs," she explains, "and the year 8s help me look after all the vegetable beds from the previous years."

"That explains why there are so many," I chuckle.

"Ah well sometimes we just dig up an old one and start again," she says look around while catching her breath.

"I don't see any year 8s helping you," I say, also looking around. "They were earlier, I just noticed some weeds here," she says.

"May I help?" I ask and she looks at me and smiles gratefully, and I wonder if it's because she wants help or because she wants the company.

"Of course, you may," she says, and points to a little shed by the chicken pen" there's some gloves and tools in there."

I walk over and open the shed door and find a pair of gardening gloves that fit me along with a hand fork Returning to the bed Miss Sato was working at, I see the straw hat beauty back on her knees, leaning over and using her hands to rummage through the dirty and pull out weeds. I kneel down across from her and start to do the same, also removing larger rocks and chucking them into a bucket already half full of the other unwanted plants.

"What are the chickens and rabbits for?" I ask as we work, finding myself enjoying sitting here amongst the vegetables and digging my glove covered fingers into the dirt. Is this why people always say gardening is good for you? Because it feels somewhat therapeutic? 

"It's the year 9s job to look after them, two new girls are assigned each week to feed them twice a day throughout the year," she explains, “and it’s also part of the year 7s biology project to be assigned a bunny or hen and tame it throughout the year."

"That's actually pretty cool," I say, "although I'd definitely not want to get given a chicken to look after."

"You're scared of chickens?" She looks up and gives me a disbelieving and amused look.

"Those things are vicious, I have war wounds to prove it," I say, adjusting my position and pulling up the leg of my jeans and pointing at a few tiny scars on my calf. She looks and laughs, and I smile to myself proudly at having made her laugh, the sound making my heart flutter.

"Oh, come on," she says, leaning closer to take a closer look, "did a chicken really give you those?'

"I'm telling you! The thing attacked me and all I was doing was walking!" I say, acting very serious, only making her chuckle more, shaking her head at me in amusement

"I'm going to make you make peace with chickens at some point," she says, indicating to the chicken pen.

"Ah no thanks," I scoff, "no way. Not going near those things."

"They are birds! They're more scared of you then you are of it," she says, and I snort.

"Yeah that's what my mom said about crabs, didn't stop them from chasing me," I say scowling, loving the fact that she hasn't stopped smiling, her eyes shining with the good, amused mood I've proudly put her in.

"Oh my, you're scared of crabs too??" She says, pursing her lips to stop herself from laughing at me again.

"The more important question is; why aren't you?" I ask her, in the same serious tone as before, "they're like water spiders but with CLAWS and ARMOR."

She laughs, still shaking her head, resuming her gardening, and I smile, watching her, not able to get enough of her. I force myself to look back at the plants and to continue gardening too before she Catches me smiling like an idiot and staring at her. I realize how happy I am, truly happy and content I mean, something I don't feel often at all.

"What are you smiling at?" I hear her ask, Catching me by surprise, and

I look up at her and see her studying me with curiosity and interest, but I notice something else in her features, something a little deeper that I can’t quite put my finger on.

"I… I feel happy," I say, honestly. A soft gentle smile spreads across her face, and I see the familiar genuine care filled look in her eyes.

"I'm glad," she says softly, her gentle tone washing over me, filling me with a sense of security and safety, a feeling I'm beginning to enjoy thoroughly. Her gaze lingers with mine for several seconds before I look away and return to the weeding, hoping she doesn't notice the blush I feel flooding to my cheeks. I feel her eyes watch me for a few seconds longer before she too returns to the work. We fall into a comfortable silence until we've completed pulling out all the unwanted plants and rocks and cleaned the bed. She stands and I do too, both of us pulling off our gloves.

"Thank you for your help Korra," she says, giving me a grateful look.

"Sure, thing Miss Sato," I say, "I actually enjoyed this… didn't ever enjoy gardening…"

"I find it quite relaxing," she says, with a calm sigh, smiling blissfully as she looks around at the vegetables. Is it strange that I find it extremely attractive watching her do things she's passionate about… like this, and teaching and working with books in the library? I ask myself as I watch her, looking away just before she turns to look at me.

"Thank you again, I enjoyed the company," she says, touching my arm gently, causing goosebumps to form and my stomach to do several flips. ‘She enjoys my company?’ I think before realizing how stupid I'm being, she's your teacher, she enjoys most of her students’ company or she wouldn't be teaching. 

"I did too," I say, immediately missing her touch as she draws her hand away and turns to pick up the bucket filled with weeds and bits of rocks and glass. I help her put everything away and start to make my way back to my dorm room. Even before I arrive at my room, I can hear someone crying, which makes me speed up. I enter and find Yue sitting on her bed with her knees pulled to her chest, shaking and crying, gasping as if she's struggling to breathe, all symptoms I've seen before. Panic attack I shut the door behind me and rush to her side, I don't hug her, having experienced enough of these in the past eight months I know it can be the wrong thing to do. Instead, I gently rest a hand on her back and rub in circular motions.

"Yue breath," I say gently, "just take deep breaths, breath with me."

I start taking deep breaths, in through my nose and out through my mouth.

"I-I c-can't," she struggles through gasps.

"Push through it, it doesn't matter if you can't just push through it, breath with me," I say calmly. Slowly but surely she starts to take deep breaths, shaky at first but the more she takes the better she becomes, and the gasping slows down.

"That's it, keep breathing," I say, and breath with her. After several minutes she's calmed down enough to stop shaking and to breathe normally. She wipes her face, brushing off the tears.

"How are you feeling now?" I ask gently, stopping rubbing her back and retracting my hand.

"Better," she says, and turns to me giving me a grateful smile, "thank you…”

"Of course," I say, "panic attack?"

"Yeah… I get them sometimes," she sighs, confirming what I originally thought.

"Do you know why you got this one?" I ask, getting up and fetching some tissues for her from my desk.

"Thanks," she says gratefully, taking the tissue and using it to fix her eyeliner, "I'm just feeling very overwhelmed…"

"Overwhelmed?" I push, sitting next to her again.

"Well as you know I'm taking more subjects than necessary, which is already putting pressure on me. On top of that I have piano every morning during the weekdays and two hours of gym training every day," she says and I nod, showing her I'm listening, "and then yesterday I got back a Spanish test, which I got 78% for.. my parents called me and freaked out when they found out…"

She trails off, looking like she's about to burst into tears again.

"Oh honey, it's okay, that's just one 'bad' mark, and honestly that's not bad at all, most people would celebrate if they got that for Spanish," I say, touching her arm to get her to look at me, "and if you're really worried about Spanish, I will help you with it.”

“You’re so amazing… thank you so much,” she says, hugging me, and I hug her back.

“Any time,” I say pulling back and looking back into her eyes I continue, “Yue you are the most hardworking, determined person I have ever known. I seriously admire you, and I promise you, your parents are proud of you. You’ll manage, I know you will.”

“You’re so nice Korra… I’m so happy to call you my friend,” she says, beaming, the tears gone. We talk more until dinner time when we both head down to the dining hall and join Jinora at her table.

At dinner, I’m bombarded with Jinora and other girls I sang with earlier all telling me how grateful they are that finally someone has come around who can stand up to P’Li and get her to shut up, and they are even more surprised when Ty Lee tells them about when I refused an invite from Azula to join her group.

I fall asleep feeling a lot more content and happier then I have in a long time, glad that I’ve made some friends and that I’ve stuck to my plan on having a new, fresh start, even though developing a crush on my teacher had not been part of the plan.


	7. Chapter 7

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 7  
\--  
Korra's POV

"Good morning," Hou-Ting greets, and the entire school greets back, their voices filling the high-ceilinged building. It's Monday morning, after breakfast, and I'm sitting between Jinora and Yue in the auditorium for assembly, which apparently happens every week. Around me, the other students squirm with excitement, the entire morning all I heard were conversations about the school play this year (which is about to be announced) and what it could possibly be.

"This assembly should be short, as we don't have much to discuss," Hou-Ting continues, standing in the center of a very grand looking stage, massive purple curtains hang down from the ceiling behind her, "as you all know, Kyoshi Academy is well known for its brilliant play productions, and this year I hope we live up to the standards we've created for ourselves. The play we will be performing this year is the musical Oliver Twist-"

She is interrupted by an excited outburst of whispering and squealing of girls, either celebrating that they guessed correctly or excited that it is a musical.

"Silence! That is enough," Hou-Ting commands and the commotion dies down, "as I was saying, this year’s production will be Oliver Twist. It will be directed by our Drama teacher Mr. Omashu, and co-directed by our wonderful Literature teacher Miss Sato."

My heart leaps at the sound of her name, and my eyes scan the heads of the teachers in the front row, looking for the familiar raven hair. If she's co-directing, I'll definitely consider auditioning.

"Auditions will be this Friday in the auditorium from 3 to 5:30 p.m., and sign up for auditions will be found on the notice board in reception," Principal Hou-Ting continues, an excited whisper still traveling through the girls around, "On another note, I'd like to remind you all the if you would like to sign up for the basketball and football teams, this week is your last chance to do so this weekend. Tryouts for the A and B teams will be held on Saturday for football and Sunday afternoon for basketball. You are dismissed."

With that, the students all stand and the whispering turns into talking conversations, and I think about the mentioning of football... should I try out?

"Korra are you going to audition?" I hear Jinora ask me, Catching my attention.

"Umm, I don't know..." I say, still mulling the idea round in my head.

"Oh, come on! You have to!" Yue pleads.

"And with your voice, you'll definitely get a part," Jinora tries to convince me. Just then I catch a glimpse of wavy raven hair and the flawless perfection of Miss Sato, and I'm reminded that she will be co-directing this play, which gives me all the more reason to audition.

"Yeah, sure, why not," I say, turning back to my friends who squeal in excitement and immediately start talking about who they would like to be in the play. We make our way out the auditorium and towards the main building and reception, along with a large majority of the school’s students. I have to say, I've never seen students so eager to audition for a musical, maybe it's an all-girls school thing?

When we arrive at the reception I almost laugh. The entire entrance hall is filled with girls eager to make their way to the front of the crowd to sign their names down for auditions. I'm amazed though at how all the younger years move out the way when they see year 12s walking in, there really is a hierarchy system here. It takes us only a few minutes to reach the notice board, where other girls from our year are already writing their names down on a quickly growing list under ‘Oliver Twist: The Musical. Auditions this Friday.’ Yue goes first, followed by Jinora who turns and hands me the pen.

"Hmm, I wouldn't do that," A bitchy voice that makes me roll my eyes and turn around again, coming face to face with Azula and her gaggle of witches.

"And why not, pray do tell?" I ask sarcastically.

"Well you see, I've been one of the main roles every year since I started out here, that's because I'm a good representative for this school," she says before waving the length of me with a dismissive hand, "whereas you? You're nowhere near good enough to be representing the school. You have no chance against me."

"Thanks for the prep talk,' I say and turn around again, writing my name under Jinora's before turning and chucking the pen at Azula, who Catches it, "however next time warn me before you give me another one of these exhausting and time-wasting lectures of yours, okay?"

With that I walk past her, Yue and Jinora falling into step behind me laughing. Around us the other girls are either hiding their laughs and smiles behind their hands or are whispering to each other with wide eyes, staring at me in disbelief that I completely shut down the queen bee of their school

The rest of the day goes by smoothly, uninterrupted by any more bitchiness, except for Jin and Song telling me at lunch how they heard from someone else that apparently, I've really pissed off Azula and her clique and they're planning on ways to ruin my year. I just laugh it off, I've been through enough to be able to take some attempts at bullying from some snobby high school seventeen-year-old girls.

The days that follow Monday leading up to Friday also drift by slowly, but uneventfully, Luckily With have no more nightmares. I soon find myself falling into a comfortable routine of waking up, showering and getting ready, going to breakfast with Jin and Song, attending my class, and spending my free time either studying or hanging out with whichever of my friends share that free with me. Lunches I spend with Jinora and Yue, and in the afternoons after school when Yue and Jinora are at gymnastics practice I study and complete whatever homework I have in the library, where I occasionally see Miss Sato, who each day seems to get even more captivatingly beautiful. My days are just busy enough for me not to spend too much time thinking about the accident and my family which I'll never see again, but also not too busy that I get overwhelmed.

There are only two classes I find myself looking forward to, the two classes obviously being English and Literature. I love the sound of Miss Sato reading poetry, and I go crazy on the inside when I hear her laugh. A new thing I've discovered is that the sound of her heels clicking on the classroom floor causes the hair on my neck to stand on end, and I am forced to cross my legs in desperation to stop myself from getting turned on. Luckily for me, she's only worn heels once, but at the same time, I wish she wore those heels more often.

Art is also fun, especially since I seem to be getting close to becoming Mr. Fire's favorite. Having had years of art practice and having my mom teach me new techniques constantly, I know I'm good art. It's not just the practical part of art I'm good at, I'm constantly answering history questions in the theory lessons, which Mr. Fire loves. It turns out we are both massive fans of Leonardo DaVinci and Velazquez. Jinora is extremely jealous of Mr. Fire’s interest in me and keeps saying she wishes she was in my shoes, but I just laugh her off every time. It's not like he's interested in me for any other reason than I'm his student who shares a passion in his subject, also I'm very sure he's gay, why else would such a young, good looking man who takes very good care of himself be teaching art at an all-girls school? I mean all the girls are hitting on him, any straight man in his position would cave at some point, don't most men have a thing for school uniforms too?

In math, I'm already Mr. Gyatso's favorite, and Azula, who tried competing with me for a few lessons, has given up trying to return to her spot at being top in the math class. Mr. Gyatso has started giving me a few extra sums on the side that are a little more difficult then what the rest of the class is doing. He says it's because he's fascinated by how good I am at math, and he wants to test my intellect. I'm only too happy to take him up on his challenges, after all when I do math, I feel a connection with my father.

***

"Are you nervous?" Yue asks, clearly nervous herself.

"Not really," I say, but honestly, I do feel a bit nervous. It's Friday afternoon, and we're making out way to the auditorium, other groups of girls are walking down too, some reading nervously off of pieces of paper while others are muttering lines they've memorized to themselves.

"I am," Yue says, wringing her hands anxiously.

"Dude don't be," Jinora says, squeezing her friend’s shoulder encouragingly, "you've been practicing all week. You've got this!"

This is true. Yue has been singing and repeating lines for a Shakespeare verse she's going to use as her auditioning piece. I however only started practicing last night. I've read the book Oliver Twist before, I've even watched all the remakes of the movie including the old original, and I've read the play before for a drama project in grade 10. I know that if I do get a part, I’ll want to be The Artful Dodger.

We entire the auditorium, which is already buzzing with nerves and excited conversation, and join the rest of our year. I look around, feeling nervous and silly for bringing a top hat and a coat for my audition, however I'm relieved when I see several others carrying props. After several minutes it seems as if everyone who has an audition or who is here to watch has arrived, and a tall skinny man with perfectly styled hair and a rather funny walk stands and climbs up the stairs to the stage. By the time he's reached the top step and turned to face the students, there is complete silence spare a few whispers here and there.

"Alright girls, you know the drill. We start with the youngest, year 7s, work our way up. No laughing or mockery, no teasing. You have up to 3 minutes each to impress us with what you've got," he says, and I beam at his clear Afrikaans South African accent, it feels good to hear it again. As he finishes the auditorium applauses, excitement rippling all around.

"Alright girls," I hear the smooth angelic voice of Miss Sato call, and the butterflies in my stomach go crazy when I see her stand and turn to us, “first off is… Korra?"

She looks confused, and I feel just as confused. I thought Mr. Omashu said it was youngest first.

"That can't be right. I think there's a mistake," Miss Sato says, turning to Mr. Omashu.

"Well, where is this Korra? Her names first, let's start with her," He says, searching the crowd of faces to see someone stand up. I feel Jinora pinch me and I stand, realizing it is me, after all, that they are talking about I make my way down towards the stage, still slightly caught off guard, my mind scrambling to remember what it is I prepared in my head to do.

"Better late than never, come on skut, get a move on," he says, making me laugh. It's been a while since I was referred to as a 'skut', which makes me realize how much I miss Cape Town.

I glance over at Miss Sato, who gives me one of her breath-taking smiles which immediately gives me the courage and calms my thoughts, allowing me to remember my audition.

"New student, are you?" Mr. Omashu asks as I walk up onto the stage, pulling my coat on.

"Yes sir," I say, turning and topping my hat on dramatically, taking a bow. A ripple of laughter at my comedic stance runs through the auditorium, and my eyes dart to Miss Sato, who's white teeth are showing from her laugh. My heart flutters.

"What are you going to do for us?" he asks, amused and interested.

My audition is short, just me speaking a paragraph of one of the scripts I read that is meant to be spoken by The Artful Dodger in a well-practiced Cockney London accent. I watch the expression on Mr. Omashu’s face turn from amused to impressed, especially when I follow my speaking part with part of a song along with hand movements and full-body actions, knowing the worst thing to do on a stage is stand stiffly and awkwardly. I finish my audition with another drastic bow, and I feel a smile spread across my face when the whole auditorium erupts in loud applause. I look up to see Mr. Omashu nodding and smiling as he writes something down on his note pad. I glance over at Miss Sato who's beaming at me, and when she sees me look over at her she mouths a 'well done', which makes my heart leap with joy and pride.

"Holy shit dude there's no way anyone is going to beat that," Jinora says surprised as I return to me seat between her and Yue.

"Everyone dapped for you! That's never happened!" Yue says, and I smile. Nailed it, I think triumphantly.

"Oh, we figured out why you were called first," Jinora whispers in my ear as the next girl, a nervous-looking year 7, is called to the stage.

"Someone just told me that they heard that apparently Azula managed to get your name at the top of the list to go first so that you'd have to perform in front of everyone. She was hoping you'd freak out or something and embarrass yourself," Yue continues, and I feel slightly angry. I turn and scan the crowd and see a slightly pissed off Azula glowering at me. I give her a wink to piss her off more and turn back around, feeling satisfied. Her plan completely failed. She's going to have to try harder than that.

"I don't care," I say simply, shrugging, and Jinora and Yue nod.

"You shouldn't, you aced it!" Jinora says, and Yue agrees.

For the next 3 hours or so we sit and watch each year audition until it reaches our year. I admit, Azula can act, but she's probably had a lifetime of acting, of course she's good at it by now

***

"Have you decided what extra mural you're going be signing up for?" Miss Sato asks me. Its Saturday afternoon, and I'm helping her with her allotments again. I'm hoping this becomes a routine, I find myself craving her presence and I am constantly buzzing with anticipation of when next I get to be with Miss Sato. I love this feeling I get when I'm with her, or when I see her, it makes me feel more alive than I have felt in a long while. It still keeps me up at night baffling over how quickly it took for Me to developed this type of crush on her.

"Football I guess..." I say, thoughtfully.

"Tryouts are tomorrow, have you signed up already?" She asks, and I sigh. I haven't.

"No," I admit, and she looks up confused. "You better sign up soon," she warns, and I nod. "I know," I say, jabbing pointlessly at the dirt. She slows her work, still watching me, noticing my mood.

"What's stopping you?" She asks. I chew my lip and frown, hesitating before answering. As much as I've learned to trust her, and as safe as I feel around her, I still find it hard to tell her these certain things, things about my family. She waits patiently, which is something I really like about her. She knows how hard it is for me to open up, and she accepts it.

"My brother, Desna, and I used to play soccer all the time," I finally say, picking up a rock and playing with it between my fingers, not quite able to look at her, “we helped each other get really really good. It was our thing, the only thing we could do with each other that didn't cause an argument or a fight."

I look up at her. She's watching me, listening with her full attention, her eyes looking like pools of gold with direct sunlight hitting them.

"Anyways," I say, looking down again, "that's why I'm hesitant to sign up."

"Can I ask you a question?" She asks, and I nod, hoping it's not anything too personal, I really don't feel like breaking down.

"Why are you so good at math?" She asks, surprising me. I look up slightly confused, causing her to smile at my expression.

"Mr. Gyatso won't shut up about you in the staff room," she explains before I can ask how she knows about my math capabilities.

"Umm well..." I start and then realize why she asked. Somehow, God only knows how she figures it has something to do with my parents. I wonder where she's going with this. I continue, "my father loved to learn about math equations and theories, he used to practice and read about them in his spare time. When we had Father-Daughter time he used to tell me about them and teach me."

"And when you do math now, how does it make you feel?" She asks.

"It… it makes me feel closer to him..." I say softly. In my brain, something clicks, and I realize where she's going with all this, "I feel like I'm honoring him somehow like it's a way for me to continue to have Father-Daughter time.."

I look up at her and she smiles softly. How on earth did she figure out that Math had something to do with my Father? How could she possibly have worked all this out?

"And how come you're so good at art?" She asks, again surprising me.

"Mr. Fire won't shut up about me in the staff room?" I ask, laughing slightly, and she nods, smiling.

"You've really struck a good impression with all your teachers," she says.

"My mom loved to paint," I say after a pause, "and draw. When I was four, I used to sit and watch her. One day I asked her to teach me, and that became our thing."

"And how does it make you feel when you paint and draw now?" She asks, and I smile. This woman is like no one I've ever met before.

"Like I'm closer to her like I'm connecting with her," I admit, and I see a smile playing on her lips. She can see that I've understood why it is she's asked me all these questions. If I play soccer, I could feel connected with Desna.

"Maybe if you play soccer, that's how you can feel closer to your brother," she says, voicing my thoughts. We hold each other’s gaze for several seconds, and I feel a click inside myself as if I just got a little closer and a little more connected with the woman kneeling across from me. I wonder if she feels the same way...

"Thank you," I say softly.

"You're most welcome," she says, the softness and care in her eyes making my heart melt a little bit. Both of us look down again and resume our work in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

After I finish helping Miss Sato with her gardening, I make my way to the reception, and sign up for soccer. ‘One step at a time Korra... one step at a time...’ I think to myself and take a breath before making my way back up to the dorm rooms to finish my homework.

"Now I have even more of a reason to play football," Kuvira smirks as I walk up to a large group of girls sitting on the grass waiting for the coaches to tell them when tryouts start.

"If you stare at my ass the whole time you won't be any good on the field and coach will have to chuck you out the team," I smirk back and Kori laughs, earning a shove from Kuvira.

"What are you doing here?" P’Li asks sassily when she spots me, not pleased to see me.

"Hunting fucking elephants P’Li," Kuvira snaps at her sarcastically before I have a chance to respond, "the fuck you think she's doing here?"

"I didn't ask for your opinion," P’Li snarls back, but Kuvira just flips her off. P’Li flicks her hair and turns away, making the wise choice to ignore Kuvira. I laugh and sit down with Kuvira and Kori, the only girls that I recognize properly out of the few dozen sitting in their different colored gear on the grass.

"You play football?" Kori asks me, and I nod. "Used to," I say. “Are you any good?" Kuvira asks. She still hasn't given up flirting with me. "I've been told I am," I say shrugging.

"Good because we need some good players, all these shit heads suck," Kuvira says, not caring that everyone around us can hear her. She ignores the sour glares thrown her way.

"Alright, ladies! On your feet!" I hear a loud female voice shout, and I turn to see a very athletic woman with dark hair in a tight high pony who looks like she's in her early thirties. I get to my feet like the rest of the girls.

"Alright! I see we have some new faces!" She scans the crowd as she continues to shout, like any and every coach in the history of ever, "and you call to know the drill! All spots on the A team are open! If you don't make the A team then you make B team or bench! Now, three laps all of you! Go go go!"

We take off around the field, and soon I'm leaving Kuvira and Kori behind, slowly creeping my way towards the front. By the time we're finishing off our third lap I'm running alongside two other girls at the front of the group. The rest of the two hours of tryouts consist of dribbling, skill, ball work, and then finally teamwork, and it doesn't take long for the coach to spot me out and watch me closely. I smirk at the end of practice, knowing for certain that I've made the A-team.

"Damn, sexy legs," Kuvira says, referring to me by the new nickname she gave me during the tryouts. She walks up to me, her hands on her hips as she catches her breath, “wasn’t expecting you to be that good."

"Yeah, shit new girl, welcome to the A team," another girl agrees with her, and I remember that girl being one of the few who managed to work with me during the teamwork exercises.

"You don't even need to check the notice board tomorrow," Kori laughs, impressed, "you definitely made it."

"Thanks girls," I say, smiling at them.

“Wanna join us for a smoke, sexy legs?” Kuvira invites flirtatiously, and I chuckle.

"See you around Kuvira," I say, before turning and leaving, heading back towards the dorm houses for a much-needed shower. Suddenly I notice the familiar perfectly carved figure of my literature teacher standing on the edge of the soccer field, her arms folded, and her head titled, eyes on me with that beautiful smile playing on her lips. My breath hitches in my throat as it usually does when I see her unexpectedly. Quickly I recover and walk over towards her, a smile spreading on my own lips. Did she come and watch me? No of course not. Why would she come to watch just you, she just came to watch all her students? Stop thinking you're more special to her. She doesn't have favorites.

"Hey Ma'am," I say once I reach her.

"Hello Korra," she says, and there's a slight cockiness in her tone, matching the smug look on her face.

"What's with the smug look?" I question skeptically, to which she laughs.

"I don't have a smug look," she says, still laughing, "I'm just happy you signed up and did the tryouts... also I'd like to think I'm the one who talked you into it."

"You did," I say, grinning at her, "and thank you for that. I'm happy I signed up."

"You're welcome. Also, I think the coach is very happy you signed up," she says, waving to someone Over my shoulder. I turn and see my new coach waving back. Grinning I turn back to Miss Sato.

"Yeah… everyone's saying I've made it to the A team," I say.

"I'm sure you did," she says, "I'm not surprised after that tryout."

"You watched it?" I asked, for some reason, my heart starts beating faster with excitement.

"Partly," she says, before adding, "you really are talented at a lot of things Miss Waters."

"Thanks, Miss," I say, blushing at the compliment. I thank the fact that my face is already red from the two hours of running, otherwise, Miss Sato would definitely notice the blush.

“I’m sure you were on your way to have a shower,” she says, “I won’t keep you any longer.”

I grin playfully, getting an idea.

“You sure you don’t want a hug?” I say stepping closer, making her laugh.

“No thank you,” she chuckles, placing a hand on my chest to stop me from getting any closer. Sparks shoot from where her skin touches mine.

“I can smell you from here,” she teases, jokingly blocking her nose with her other hand.

“Your loss,” I joke back, missing her touch instantly as her hand falls.

“Bye Miss Sato,” I say with a final smile and she steps to the side to let me pass.

“I’ll see you later Korra,” she says, her eyes twinkling with the smile that tugs on the corner of her lips.


	8. Chapter 8

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 8  
\--  
Asami's POV

"Good morning Asami," the other teachers greet me as I walk into the staff room, and I return their greetings with a flourishing smile.

"Ah good, now we can begin," Hou-Ting says, seeing that I, the last teacher, has entered. I join my fellow colleagues and take one of the seats around the room.

"First, I'd like to congratulate Asami and Bumi in their cast choice for Oliver Twist," Bumi and I smile at the small applause that ripples through the room, along with several agreeing voices, "I’m sure the girls will agree with us when they see the notice board after assembly. Now, it's been two weeks since Korra Waters joined us, her godfather is asking for progress results from her teachers, what shall I tell him?"

"You can tell him she's a delight to teach, never in all my years of teaching have I ever met a student who takes to math with such enthusiasm! I see much potential for Miss Waters," Mr. Gyatso says, clearly very impressed. A small smile plays on my lips, so I’m not the only teacher who's subject Korra shines in.

"In art too I see great potential, she has shown much talent in the class," Mr. Fire agrees, nodding, and the smile on my lips grows. Hearing how impressed my fellow teachers talk so highly of Korra somehow makes me pleased, I'm not sure why.

"I agree with both Mr. Fire and Mr. Gyatso, I see a bright future for young Korra," The biology teacher pipes up, and I watch Hou-Ting raise her eyebrows, taken aback by the positive response. She turns to me when she realizes I haven't said anything yet

“And you Asami? How is Korra in your classes?" She asks.

"She has shown an interest in literature, so far I'm very impressed with how she answers my questions in class," I say, thinking back to all my classes I have with Korra, and realizing to my surprise that I remember her in every year 12 class I teach that she's in. This I find strange. I teach a lot of girls, how is it that I remember her specifically? I brush it off as her just being a new student and her showing a refreshing particular interest in my class.

"Good! I am glad," Hou-Ting nods before moving onto the next topic of discussion. Several minutes later and I'm walking with Bumi Omashu and Zhu Li towards the auditorium. The two are discussing a play they want to both go see in a few weeks’ time, so I let them talk and slip into my own thoughts. Monday's are my busiest and worst day, mostly because I have a minority of younger classes. Two classes of English year 10s, one after the other, followed by two classes of year 11s and then a class of literature year 11s. Only at the end of the day do I have my year 12s. I don't have favorite students but I'm not afraid to admit to myself that I do have favorite years to teach. The year 12s are old enough to not mess around to the point where I have to yell or shout and are mature enough to appreciate learning and actually care to listen and pay attention in classes. Also, I know the year 12s on a more personal level because I spend a fair amount of free time with them, what with being their housemaster and mentor.

"Good morning Miss Sato, I wanted to ask you something," the high voice of Miss Kwong (the English teacher for the year 7s, 8s, and 9s) interrupts my thoughts.

"Sure," I smile politely at the younger woman. It's her first year of teaching, and I really pity the petite 24-year-old, I have no idea how I'd handle 12, 13, 14 and 15-year olds for an entire day. Sure enough, I can already see the stress of this all has gotten to her.

"Is _The Importance of Being Earnest_ too mature for my year 9s? Misses Hou-Ting has told me to find another book to replace one of the books in my syllabus and I haven't been here long enough to learn exactly where the girls are at," she says, and frown, pondering the question.

"How about _Little Women_? I think the girls won't appreciate _The Importance of Being Earnest_ just yet," I say, and she nods.

"Thanking you Miss Sato," she says, smiling broadly at me. "Please, call me Asami," I say, "I hear enough of 'Miss Sato' in class." "I shall," she says, laughing. We entire the auditorium and sit down in the front row, not before I've greeted at least 20 girls who call out 'Good morning Miss Sato’ or ‘Hi Miss Sato’.

"You're very popular amongst the girls," Miss Kwong says, a hint of jealousy in her voice, "how do you do it?"

"I've been teaching her for nearly three years," I say shrugging, not entirely sure WHY it is nearly all of my students love me, "I guess that's part of it. Other than that, I have no idea why they like me."

"I wish I had the level of respect from them that you have," she says sighing, and I chuckle.

"You're still young and learning. Give it some time," I say, smiling at her reassuringly. The assembly starts, and I can feel the level of excitement and eagerness from the students to get out and rush to the notice board to see if they got into the play.

Once assembly ends, I make my way to my classroom and prepare myself for the class, accepting the fact that several of my students will be late, assuming they've gone to go see if their names are on the cast list of the notice board.

The classes leading up to lunch go by smoothly, with only a little bit of trouble with getting the girls to calm down and pay attention at the beginning of my first class. My last class before lunch is my year 11s, and I take a deep breath as P’Li enters, trying to calm myself in preparation for this lesson. Don't be biased Asami... don't be biased... breath and be professional... as troubling as this girl is you will manage, dealing with troublemakers is part of your job. "Good morning class," I say loud enough for the students to stop talking and turn to me. They greet me back with very little enthusiasm, which is nothing I don't expect. What is it with this year’s year 11s? Why are they so disinterested?

"Today," I continue, walking around the class and collecting their homework, which was to write a letter to a friend describing a new person or thing that has entered their life, "I would like you to turn to page 56 in your textbooks and finish exercise 5.6 a, b and c. You will have twenty minutes to do so, after which there will be a class discussion on your answers."

I finish collecting the homework and make my way to the front, watching patiently for them all to get out their textbooks, pens, and notepads.

"You may begin," I say once I have noticed they are all read. I sit down at my desk and pull the newly collected homework in front of me. I might as well start marking now, make use of these twenty minutes while I wait for the girls to finish. The top assignment is one done by On Ji, the quiet girl who always get the rough end from P’Li. I glance up at On Ji, who's sitting in the back corner, scribbling away. I worry about that girl. As her teacher, I've of course noticed the scars on her wrists, and I've also had multiple students tell me they suspect On Ji is depressed. As much as I've tried talking to On Ji, she just won't open up to me, and I can't pressure anyone into telling me anything. I turn my attention back to the letter in front of me and I click my red marking pen and tilt the page up to me so I can read.

‘Dear Ty Lee,

A bird has swooped down into my life. This is no ordinary bird; she has eyes of silver and hair so beautiful it makes me stare. Her name is Korra.’

My eyebrows raise and I glance back up at On Ji, who is still writing away. This is not at all what I expected. Normally I can tell at once if one of my students is gay or sexually attracted to women, either by catching them looking at me or another student with that dark, longing look in their eyes. Or I'll hear about it from one of the groups that love to tell me the newest gossip. On Ji? I would never have guessed, but I can already tell this is a love letter. A love letter about Korra. I smile, how sweet. I look back down at the letter in front of me and continue reading.

‘Her smile is enough to chase the sad thoughts out my heart, and I imagine sending any man falling to his knees. When she directs that smile at me, I feel like my chest is about to explode, just by being in the same room as her I feel as though I might be happy again.’

I smile again. Korra does have a heart touching smile and a personality so strong it is hard not to feel her presence in the room.

And her voice, oh her voice, when she sings, sounds like she is an angel sent from the stairs. Her voice alone would make anyone fall in love.

I put the paper down, deciding that even though it was for homework and On Ji did hand it in, therefore giving me permission to read it, it is a letter that I feel is to personal for me to read. I hear whispering and look up to catch P’Li talking quietly to her friend and pointing at On Ji, both of them snickering.

"P’Li," I warn, causing her to look at me.

"Sorry Miss," she says, not at all sounding apologetic. That's another thing. I feel nervous to give the letter back to On Ji. I've watched and tried to stop P’Li from bulling the poor girl since I arrived here. If she gets her hands on a letter like this, well who knows how badly she could affect On Ji with it. I glance at On Ji again and decide that I will speak to her after class about the letter.

"Your home due for Wednesday is to do activities 5.7 and 5.8 on pages 57 through to 58, also read the extract on page 59 and write a 300-word summary," I say loudly over the noise of 30 girls packing away their books.

"On Ji if you would please stay behind," I say, catching her attention right before she darts out the door. She looks up at me with wide nervous eyes and I give her a smile to let her know she's not in trouble. I walk around my desk pull two chairs closer together and indicate for her to sit, which she does hesitantly. And sit down in the other chair, and she notices the paper I have in my hand and her face goes red with embarrassment and she looks down at her hands, which are clasping and unclasping anxiously.

"It's okay, it's nothing serious," I say gently, resting a hand over hers to calm her down.

"Do you like Korra?" I ask softly, and she pauses before nodding, still not looking at me.

"I-I know it's wrong," she says, her voice quiet and shaky. Is that really why she thinks I'm talking to her because I'm about to tell her how 'wrong' it is?

"Oh honey, there is nothing wrong with liking another girl," I say, and she looks up at me, surprised.

"It's sweet that you wrote this letter about her. Does she know?" I ask, and she shakes her head.

"No one knows but you," she says.

“Well, I promise I won't tell anyone," I say, and she smiles, the first time I've ever seen her smile.

"I'm going to give you 90% for this and give it back to you okay? Just be careful not to let the wrong people see it," I say, warning her as I hand it back, and I know she knows who I mean. P’Li.

"Thank you, Miss Sato," she says, taking the paper, "may I go now?"

"Sure honey," I say, and she gets up quietly and leaves, pausing at the door to say one last 'goodbye, Miss Sato'. I return the chairs to their corresponding desks and start to pack away my books, knowing I'm going to be spending the rest of my day in the literature classroom.

Suddenly I start to hear a commotion outside from through an open window and I look up sharply, standing straight and walking towards the window to try to see what's going on.

"Fuck," I mutter as I see a large duster of girls standing around the fountain in the center of the courtyard, P’Li standing on the edge of the fountain with a piece of paper in her hands. To the right I spot P’Li's two friends, Ming-Hua and Ginger, holding a struggling On Ji. Immediately I rush towards the door and out the classroom, speed walking towards the growing crowd of girls.

"Her smile is enough to chase the sad thoughts out my heart, aww isn't that sweet," P’Li laughs sarcastically, and I feel anger at myself growing. I should've just kept the letter, of course, P’Li would get hold of it. I reach the crowd of girls and start pushing through them.

"When she directs that smile at me, I feel like my chest is about to explode, I think Korra would want your chest to explode if she ever saw this piece of shit you psychopathic dyke," she says.

"Move girls!" I shout, causing them to look around and see me, immediately moving aside for me to pass. I slow as I see a dark-haired girl break through the inner circle, striding towards P’Li, who sees her.

“Oh, look who it is,” P’Li laughs, and Korra stops in front of her and holds out her hand, beckoning for her to hand over the letter.

“You know what? Yes, you read this creepy stalker’s letter,” P’Li laughs again and hands over the letter. As Korra takes it, I see On Ji break free of Ming-Hua’s and Ginger’s grasp and she peels off, running across and out the courtyard.

“I hope you feel better about yourself P’Li,” Korra snaps at the P’Li, and she turns and runs after On Ji, the crowd parting for her in silence.

“P’Li! Go to reception now! Wait for me outside Misses Hou-Tings office, I will deal with you just now,” I say dangerously, in an extremely stern tone, a tone I have only used twice before at the school. I turn towards Ming-Hua and Ginger, “you two, join P’Li. If you are not waiting there for me when I return, there will be grave consequences.”

I turn and walk quickly through the dissolving crowd of students who had just watched one of the worst bullying incidents I have ever seen at this school. Inside I feel furious, how could P’Li do something like that? I know she’s a very shallow and awful person, but to go that far? I take a deep breath to calm myself as I exit the courtyard and look around desperately to try spot where either of the two girls had gone off to. My eyes rest on one of the concrete tables under the trees, where both girls are sitting. I can see On Ji crying from here, shaking and hugging herself. Next to her Korra sits, rubbing the younger girl’s back, talking gently to her. I feel slightly shocked.

I start walking towards them, and when I’m about halfway there, Korra sees me and gently shakes her head and I stop. She gives me a small smile, her eyes telling me that she’s got this, and I return the smile and nod, and slowly backing up before turning and making my way back to the courtyard entrance. Before I leave, I look back at the two girls and watch as Korra gently takes one of On Ji’s arms and slowly pulls up her sleeve. On Ji says something and Korra pulls her into an embrace and I smile to myself, shaking my head in amazement. Did Korra just get On Ji to open up to her and show her self harm scars? Something I’ve been trying to get her to do for two years? As I watch Korra gently talking to the broken girl besides her I feel something in me move, something warming me and calming me down. I’m not sure what it is but it’s a nice feeling, giving me the serenity to walk on and make my way to Misses Hou-Ting’s office, where I better find P’Li, Ming-Hua, and Ginger waiting.

When I arrived, I do find the three waiting for me, P’Li looking pissed off and the other two looking anxious.

“Miss Sato we didn’t mean-“ Ming-Hua begins but I cut her off.

“Save it,” I say strictly, putting on my teacher voice as I knock on the office door. I hear Misses Hou-Ting telling us to come in and I open the door and indicated for the three girls to enter before me, which they do.

“Ah Miss Sato, what do we have here?” Hou-Ting says, leaning back and raising an eyebrow. I explain what happened, silencing two interruptions from P’Li.

“P’Li, you are well aware that bullying is not permitted at all at Kyoshi Academy’s,” Hou-Ting says, and I recognize the tone in her voice as a tone that means danger, “and this is the third and final time I will be telling you this. If you land up in my office again for anything that has to do with bad behavior, you will be expelled.”

“Yes Misses Hou-Ting,” P’Li says, turning her attitude from bitchy to respectful, realizing that her education is on the line.

“Your position in the play is taken away from you, and two months of Friday detention,” Hou-Ting continues and P’Li’s mouth open to argue, however she manages to shut it again. I feel relieved that I was not assigned to deal with P’Li and have to be the one who gives her detention.

“As for you two, you will be joining P’Li in the Friday detention for two months, this is your second warning. All of your parents will be called and informed of this incident. You are dismissed,” She continues, and the three girls bid her a quiet goodbye and leave the office, P’Li throwing me a hateful glare, which I ignore.

I wait for the door to close behind the girls, knowing that Misses Hou-Ting will want to talk to me. I know she’s homophobic, I’ve been here long enough to figure that out, and so I wait patiently for her lecture on why I should’ve been stricter on On Ji or something about On Ji before P’Li did.

“Asami,” She says as soon as the door shuts, and indicates for me to take a seat across from her, which I do.

“So, this letter,” ahh, here it comes, “was a love letter? About one of the fellow students? Korra, was it?”

“The assignment was to write a letter to a friend describing a new person or thing that has made an impact on their life,” I explain, and she nods slowly.

“And On Ji, she wrote about Korra?” She asks.

“Yes, she did,” I say, remaining mutual.

“Did you speak to her about how that is wrong?” She asks and I battle my anger down.

“No,” I say, and I find myself thinking about Korra, and somehow that makes it easier to remain calm. Instead of thinking about how strange that is I dismiss it and accept the calm feeling I achieve. I need all help I can get right now to remain professional in this instance.

“Why not?” She asks, confused.

“I did not have a chance to,” I lie. She watches me carefully, but I give no indication in my facial features that I am lying.

“Next time make sure you sort it out before a problem like this arises,” she says and I nod, digging my nails into my thigh to stop myself from snapping. The only thing I do not like about this school is the homophobia and judgment when it comes to sexuality, most of that hate originating from the woman in front of me.

“I will see you at lunch,” she says, dismissing me. I gladly stand and leave without a word, making my way back to my classroom to fetch my half-packed up books.

On my way to the library, where I plan on dropping my things off before heading to lunch, I see Korra sitting by herself at the same concrete table as before. I come to a halt, wondering if everything is okay and where On Ji went. Just as I’m about to call to Korra and tell her to join me she looks up and sees me, almost immediately smiling afterwards. She gets up and half jogs over. I start walking just as she’s about to reach me, and she falls into step next to me.

“I was just about to ask you if you’re okay,” I say, glancing at her, slightly relieved to see no sign of crying.

“I’m fine, I was just thinking,” she says, before taking several of the books from me, and I let her, accepting the kind gesture of help. We walk in silence for several moments as I mull over what I want to say to her, how I should thank.

“What you did back there,” I say, and she looks over at me and I turn to look at her very seriously, “it was very mature, Korra.”

She smiles softly to herself and looks forward again.

“Really, I don’t know any other student who would’ve treated that situation the way you did,” I say honestly, voicing my exact thoughts.

“Honest Miss Sato, I treated the situation how anyone should have,” she says, and I feel that same movement I felt earlier inside my chest. I suddenly feel a great amount of respect directed towards her. I respect all my students, however, the respect I feel now towards Korra is more the type of respect I’d feel towards an adult who had just made a morally correct decision.

“You’re a lot more grown-up than a seventeen-year-old should be,” I comment as we enter the library and she laughs.

“I was sort of forced to grow up,” she says simply, “not my choice.”

I stare at her, and I feel a pang of pain in my heart. She says it casually, like it’s not a big deal, almost playfully, However, I know what she means. She means that eight months ago she was forced to grow up when she lost her whole family, she was forced to be an adult for herself.

We walk into the classroom and she sets the books she was carrying for me down on my desk.

“Thank you,” I say.

“No problem,” she says, smiling at me and I’m reminded of On Ji’s letter. On Ji was right, her smile alone does so many things… Inwardly frown. Where on earth did that thought come from? I dismiss it as a simple acknowledgment of the fact that Korra has a nice smile.

“Did On Ji speak to you about anything?” I ask, remembering earlier.

“Yeah, she did,” she says, running a hand through her hair, biting her lip and frowning as if contemplating.

“You don’t have to tell me,” I assure her, guessing her thoughts, “I just want to know if she’s safe.”

“She’s safe at the moment, she didn’t tell me too much, but if she does say something that could mean her life is in danger I’ll be sure to come and tell you immediately,” she says and I smile gratefully.

“I’d appreciate that,” I say, and she nods.

“Scaddle to lunch now you,” I say, and she grins at my choice of words and makes her way to the classroom door.

“I’ll see you later, Miss,” she says, and I watch her leave, a small smile on my lips. There’s definitely something different about that girl…


	9. Chapter 9

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 9  
\--  
Korra's POV

The next three weeks go by in what feels like the flash of an eye. My days have become busier now that I have play practice every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon after school for two hours and every Saturday from 9-11 a.m., however, I'm pleased with the fact I got the role of The Artful Dodger, and that Yue is one of the two Oliver Twists. Plus, play practice means more time to spend listening to Miss Sato’s voice and stealing glances of her whenever I can.

Football practice is every Monday and Wednesday for two hours after school and has become the time when I get to completely clear my head. Miss Sato was right to convince me to join football, it really does feel like Desna is running with me on the field.

I've adopted On Ji into my friend circles, Jin, Song, Yue, and Jinora accept her just like they accepted me. Together we've made sure P’Li nor her minions have been able to get anywhere near the girl.

Slowly On Ji has opened up to me more, telling me about her drug-abusing father and her alcoholic gambling mother and about being basically neglected as a child. Eventually, her Grandmother adopted her and sent her to this school in desperation to get her as far away from her parents as she could. She even told me that she hasn't self-harmed ever since I spoke to her and was so nice to her after P’Li read that letter out loud to everyone, she says she's finally started to stop feeling so depressed and lonely, and that she has me to thank for that, which makes me feel extremely happy. She does however understand that I don't have feelings for her, but I made it clear to her that I do care about her and will be here for her if she needs.

"I can't believe that term one will be over in three weeks," Yue says, and I nod in agreement. It is hard to believe I've been here for over a month, and yet at the same time it feels as if I've been here longer.

At the moment it’s Friday, exactly three weeks since the play auditions. I'm lying on one of the couches, carelessly strumming a guitar with my legs draped over Jinora's lap. Yue sits on the floor studying in the splits position as if it is the most casual and comfortable position to sit in.

"What are you doing in the coming holidays?" Jinora asks me.

"Not sure, probably just go home," I say, shrugging. It feels weird calling my godfathers penthouse in London 'home'. When I say home, I still see my house in Cape Town.

"What about you?" I ask her, picking at the strings softly.

"I know for one of the two weeks I'm going to be in Whales, visiting my grandparents. I'm probably just going to spend the other week at home studying," she says.

"What are you doing Yue?" I ask, turning my head to the crazy girl doing the splits on the floor.

"Homework," she says, looking at me with a duh expression on her face, messing around with me. I roll my eyes at her.

"Not right now, dumbass. I meant what are you doing in the holidays," I say, and she grins.

"Going back to my home country with my family for my cousin's wedding," she says. Looks like I'll be friendless this holiday... unless Jin, Song, and Ty Lee are staying behind. Then again Song lives in Manchester, so even if she isn't going somewhere it will be a bit of a mission to make plans with her.

"What are you girls talking about?" I look up at the sound of Jin's voice and see Jin and Song approaching us.

"What we're doing in the holidays," Jinora answers Jin's question.

"Oooh! I'm so excited, I'm going to Ireland with my boyfriend and his family," Jin says enthusiastically while taking a seat on the couch across from us.

"Wow it's really getting serious between you guys isn't it?" Yue says, looking up at her. "Yeah, it is..." Jin sighs dreamily, causing Song to roll her eyes.

"Have you guys slept together yet?" Jinora asks.

"No, they're waiting for marriage," Song cuts in before Jin can, rolling her eyes again. She's obviously heard way too much about Jin's boyfriend and relationship from her best friend, Jin herself.

"We're not waiting for marriage," Jin says, shoving Song, "we're just waiting for the perfect moment."

Song mouths 'blah blah blah' and makes talking motions with her hands, and I laugh at her. Yue and Jinora both 'awww' at Jin, who is blushing at the mere thought of her boyfriend.

"So, you're a virgin?" I ask, assuming that she is considering she's waiting to have sex with this guy.

"Ahahahahaha hell to the no," Song says before Jin can answer, laughing ballistically and almost falling off the couch.

"Shut up Song, I'm not the same person I was, okay," Jin mutters, rolling her eyes before turning to me.

"I'm not a virgin, I actually, and regrettably, used to sleep around a lot. But my boyfriend and I want our relationship to be special and to last, so we're waiting," she explains.

"Stop laughing at me Song! It's not like you're any more innocent then I am," Jin snaps at her friend who is still laughing at my 'are you a virgin' question.

"Hey!" Song says defensively, "I've only slept with two guys, and I was dating them at the time."

"You were dating two guys and sleeping with both at the same time? You go girl," I smirk, knowing that's not what she meant. She narrows her eyes at me.

"Oh, shut up, you know that's not what I meant," she says, Jin now laughing next to her.

"I'm definitely the most innocent one here," Yue says, raising her eyebrows at us in fake disapproval. "Why? What have you done?" Jin asks her. "Basically nothing, she's like had one French kiss," Jinora answers for Yue. "How cuttteee," I awww at her, and she throws a pencil at me, which I block.

"How far have you gone Korra?" Song asks, and the attention of all four girls turn to me.

"Far enough," I say vaguely, as always. I feel weird talking about myself.

"Oh common, answer!" Jinora says, smacking my thigh, but I remain quiet.

"By your response, we're just gonna assume you've had sex," Jin says, causing me to groan in annoyance that they won't just drop the subject.

"How many guys have you slept with?" Song says, and adds, "by not answering you've made us more curious. You dug yourself your own grave."

I move the guitar off myself and try to get up so I can run away from the conversation, but Yue realizes my intentions and jumps up, sitting on me before I can lift myself off the couch.

"We're not letting you go until you gossip," Jinora laughs and I sigh in defeat.

"So? How many people have you slept with?" Jin asks, wiggling her eyebrows. I sigh and hesitate, counting the people in my head.

"6? 7?" I finally say, and then roll my eyes at all of their surprised and shocked expressions.

"You've slept with 7 guys??!!" Exclaims Song.

"No, I said I've slept with 7 people," I correct and it takes several seconds for Jinora to raise her eyebrows and mouth 'oh'. It takes another several seconds for the other three to realize what I mean.

"Wait you've slept with a girl??" Jin basically shouts, being the last to click.

"I've slept with several. Anything else you'd like to know?" I say, smiling at how surprised they all look. Except for Jinora, who doesn't actually seem phased.

"Um yeahhh I have like 100 questions," Song says and I laugh.

"So, are you like gay?" She asks, very curious.

"No," I respond.

"Bi?" Jin pipes in.

"Yup," I say, still smiling.

"So, you are attracted to girls?" Jinora asks and I nod.

"And boys?" Jin questions.

"Rarely," I say honestly.

"How many have you slept with? Girls I mean," Song asks, still fascinated.

"About 5," I say. "Have you ever dated a girl?" Song asks yet another question. She really did mean it when she said she has 'like 100 questions'.

"Yes," I reply.

"And a guy?" Jin questions, and I nod.

"I really would never have guessed..." Song says, sitting back, and I give her a questioning look.

"I mean I would never have guessed that you're into girls," she explains before adding quickly, "not that it's a problem obviously. I just never would have guessed that about you."

"Same," Jin says and the others agree. Jinora changes the topic and I throw her a grateful glance, and she responds with a 'don't mention it' kind of smile. After a while they're too busy talking about Calvin Klein's new underwear and have completely forgotten the conversation we just had about my sex life, which I'm happy about. They don't seem to be treating me any differently or acting any different, which is something I like about these girls. They're not nearly as judgmental as I thought private school girls would be.

After about ten minutes I excuse myself from the conversation and walk out the house, deciding to take a walk, yet knowing to myself that I'll most definitely land up at the library. Sure enough, I do, and I walk in to see my extremely attractive, heart-stopping English teacher sorting through returned books that need to be put back on their shelves.

She hears me enter and looks over her shoulder, smiling when she sees who it is. I love her smile; I'll never get sick of it... just like how I'll never get sick of the incredibly amazing feelings she makes me feel just by being in the same room as me. It feels like my senses are enlightened whenever I look at her, it feels like my skin is itching with excitement and anticipation when I hear her voice. In a way it scares me, because I know that the things I feel towards her are no longer the type of feelings that belong to the word 'crush'. lye developed real feelings for my teacher, and that part I hate. I hate that she's my teacher, and I hate feeling this way even though I know I have no shot at being with her, but I can't stop feeling like I'm walking on clouds whenever she looks at me with those electrifying light green eyes.

"Korra," she greets, turning back to the books piling up on the table in front of her.

"Good afternoon Miss Sato. Do you need any help?" I offer. "If you're willing," she says, throwing me a small, grateful smile. "What must I do?" I say, joining her.

"Well I find it easier to shelve them if I've sorted them by genre, so right now I'm putting them all in piles according to their genre. Geography there, science on the pile, history over there, literature here," she says, pointing to the different piles spread over the desk, "fiction on that one, autobiographies there and languages over there. If you find anything that doesn't have a pile yet, then just make one and tell me."

"Okay," I chuckle, finding her little organizing plan incredibly cute. She pokes me for giggling at her and I stop, smiling slyly, earning a joking glower from her. We work together in silence, finding a rhythm without talking. I love this, being able to do something with her in a comfortable silence. Sometimes I forget she's my teacher.

"Alright, looks like that's all..." she says, scanning the table with her hands on her hips.

"Now we shelve them?" I ask.

"Now we shelve them," she confirms, nodding.

"I've never noticed a librarian here... are you basically the librarian?" I ask as she scoops up half of the history books. I pick up the other half and follow her through the maze of shelves to the history section.

"I guess I am," she answers, pondering the thought. We reach the history section and she moves the ladder a bit across on its rails and starts to climb. My eyes unintentionally flicker to her ass and then down to her exposed legs, her calf muscles flexing as she steps up, sliding books into their rightful places. Her skin looks especially tanned when she wears this white summer dress... I fight my imagination as it pictures how her legs would feel wrapped around my waist.

"Did you always want to be a teacher?" I ask, gulping to myself and forcing my eyes upwards. I respect Miss Sato, and I feel slightly ashamed and guilty when I stare at her with sexual intentions. I never want to make her feel violated or uncomfortable, even if I know I'm too careful to let her catch me checking her out, although I'm sure there's a possibility she's caught me staring at her legs or ass in class once or twice.

She turns to me, slightly caught off guard by the question I gather, judging by the surprised look in her eyes. During all the times we've talked before, we haven't really spoken about her, or at least I've never asked her a question about herself... I wonder why that is? Maybe because she's always directed the conversation either about me or if she senses I would like I lighter topic we talk about school and the latest gossip. Although, when we talk about the latest gossip we mostly laugh or lightly mock what the other girls focus their attention on.

"I wanted to be a writer," she says, after a pause, pulling me out my thoughts. She turns on the ladder and gestures for me to pass her the rest of the history books.

"I guess studying literature and English and then teaching them was the next best thing... I thought while I taught, I'd have time to write too, and then earn a salary while I wrote," she says, and then chuckles, "I misjudged how little free time teachers have. If I'm not teaching, I'm marking."

I smile at that. This is the first time she's told me something personal, even though it may not seem too personal and deep, it's a start. It most definitely has started a hungry fire in me to find out more about her.

"A writer?" I question, although wary about pushing too much. I know there's a personal line that she, as my teacher, has probably drawn, and I don't want to cross that line.

"Yes," she says, climbing down the ladder and sliding the last of the textbooks into one of the lower shelves, "I wanted to write fantasy stories for young adults and children."

Without meaning to, a small part of me melts at how beautiful she looks when she talks about something she's passionate about, her dream. Her eyes gleam and her lips form a soft smile as she mentions the types of stories she wanted to write. Her gaze meets mine, and she smiles gently at me, and there it is again, that clicking feeling in my chest like somehow, we just got a little bit closer. I frown to myself as she turns away and makes her way back to the remaining books. What is that clicking feeling? Am I just imagining it? Or is it something my love-struck heart wants to be real but isn't?

"Do you still want to write?” I ask, following her.

"I do..." she says, pausing as she picks up several science books. I see the concentration and thought in her eyes, her forehead slightly crinkled. I wait for her to decide if she wants to tell me more, not wanting to push her. She looks up at me, and I feel slightly taken aback by the look in her eyes. She looks at me with a certain intensity, as if she's curious about something, and slightly confused at the same time. Her expression changes, as if she's made up her mind.

"I would like to write; however, I find myself lacking the inspiration to," she says, and then looks away, leaving me breathless. How can she take away my breath with one simple look? She walks off in the direction of the science section and I pick up the rest of the science-related books and follow her.

"Did you ever have any ideas for a book?" I ask, still burning to know more about this increasingly intriguing woman.

"Oh, I had many," she laughs, arriving at the science section and moving around, placing books where they belong. Again, I wait for her to tell me, scared that if I ask any more questions, she'll change the topic and I won't get to hear more.

"I think one of my favorite ideas was about a dolphin," she says, smiling to herself, and her face clearly shows she's taking a trip down memory lane. She walks up to me and takes more books out of my arms and turns to another ladder, which she moves across and climbs.

"A dolphin?" I can't help but question.

"Yes," she says, throwing me a playful smile over her shoulder, "a dolphin. I love dolphins."

"Have you ever been dolphin diving?" I ask, going with her flow to change the topic. If she wanted to tell me about this story idea of hers about a dolphin, then she would've told me in that answer. However, I can sense that that story might be a little too personal.

"I have," she says, a look of happiness crossing her face. She gestures for me to hand her the last of the books. "Where?" I ask as I stand on my tippy toes to hand her the books. "Australia," she says, nostalgically. "Crazy. No way I'd go anywhere near those waters," I snort, and she laughs.

"Oh, come on you lived in Cape Town. The South African coast is known to be the home of the Great White, "she chuckles, climbing down the ladder.

"Only insane people swim in Cape Town. The water there is below freezing," I mutter, but I feel a sad tug in my heart. I'd do anything right now to be home. She notices the look on my face.

"Do you miss it?" She asks and I nod.

"I still call it home in my mind," I admit quietly, looking down at my hands. I don't know what it is, but when I talk about emotional things, I find it hard to look at the person I'm talking to. I feel her gently touch my hand, her soft fingers igniting sparks that send goosebumps. I glance up at her to see her giving me a gentle smile, her eyes holding that safety feeling I've begun to fall in love with.

"It's where the people you loved most were," she says, "you will accept a new home when you find love again."

There she goes again, saying the perfectly right thing. How does she do it? Know exactly what to say? A warm feeling, fuzzy feeling spreads through my entire body, and I resist the urge to step forward and kiss her. Instead, I smile.


	10. Chapter 10

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 10  
\--  
Korra's POV

_"Desna can you stop sitting with your legs wide open, I hardly have any space," I groan at my brother, who smirks at me tauntingly._

_"Then you should've sat here and let me sit in the middle," he says, opening his legs wider._

_"Whenever you sit here you tease Eska," I snap, "come on, just sit normally!"_

_"Is this really, necessary children?" My mother shouts, getting irritated with our arguing._

_"Korra started it! I'm not even sitting with my legs wide open!" Desna whines, completely lying._

_"Stop being such a child Desna," I mutter._

_"Korra be the older sibling and leave your brother alone," my dad intervenes._

_"Why do you always take his side!" I say angrily._

_"That's hardly fair Korra," he mutters, "I'm not asking the unreasonable. I'm merely asking for you to be the more mature and older sister."_

_"Yeah Korra, be mature," Desna mocks._

_"Shut up Desna!" I yell, shoving him into the car door. Next to me, Eska starts crying, she hates it when we fight and yell._

_"That's enough Korra!" My dad shouts, turning in his seat. A loud horn of a truck sounds and bright lights blind us all. As soon as the collision takes place, it's as if everything slows down and the volume is switched off._

_The impact sends us flying, spinning. Glass flies everywhere, blood droplets joining them. We spin several times into oncoming traffic, where the second car hits, sending us tumbling off the road where the car flips several times before finally coming to a standstill._

_Shock is pulsating through my body. I can't think, I can't make sense of anything. Pain is radiating through my rib cage, from my left elbow, and from my right temple. However, that pain completely vanishes when my eyes finally focus. My dad is slumped over in his seat, blood dripping from his mattered hair. My mother is half hanging out the front windshield I turn, my entire world tilting and slowing down, and see Desna. His eyes are wide open and lifeless. His mouth hangs open, blood slowly running down his chin. No. This isn't real. I can't think. I can't feel. My heartbeat deafens my hearing. I can't close my eyes, I can't look away as I turn to my baby sister, who lies in her car seat in a sickeningly twisted position, a shard of glass sticking out her small neck._

"Korra... Korra! Honey wake up, honey listen to my voice, wake up sweetie, it's just a dream... come on Korra, come back to me..." I start to hear a familiar voice that gets louder and dearer. The dream fades away, and I wake, opening my eyes to see soft, light green eyes searching my face anxiously, relief washing over them as she sees me waking up. I start to feel my body now, which is sore and stiff from the convulsions and spasms. My pajamas stick to my sweat-covered skin, and I feel the tears running down my cheeks.

"Oh Korra," she whispers, and I see the pain in her eyes and face as if she hates seeing me like this as if she feels what I feel. Her hands gently cup my face, her fingers caress my cheek, brushing away the tears and stray hairs. My arms find their way out the twisted covers and I slip them around her waist. I feel her arms wrap around me and she brings me into her, holding me tight. I bury my face into her chest, letting myself feel her hold me, letting the sense of security and safety she makes me feel wash over me. Her scent and whispering calming my racing, breaking heart. We sit like this for what feels like a very long time, although for me it could never be enough. Her one hand strokes my hair soothingly, and she rocks me gently. I close my eyes, trying to lose myself in her embrace and forget the dream that haunts me night after night.

"It's okay baby, it's okay... I've got you... you're safe." She whispers in my hair, and hearing those words come out her mouth I realize how it makes my heart feel. How it makes my thoughts silence themselves. Those words have never sounded purer, sounded more right. I pull away and curl myself into a ball on my bed, pulling a pillow into my chest and clutching onto it.

"Is it the same dream every time?" She asks softly, her hand sliding along my waist to my back and gently drawing soothing patterns with her fingers over my shirt. Her movements are subtle, natural, and to anyone else, they may seem normal, but to me, the slightest bit of contact from her sends the butterflies in my chest racing.

"Yes," I say, trying to focus on something other than the tingling sensation of her fingers on my back. I love the feeling but it's seriously distracting.

"Last time you said something about a fight before the truck hit... may I ask what fight?" She asks hesitantly. I can tell she doesn't want to push; however, I know that she's only trying to get me to open up. I squeeze my eyes shut as the images of the accident flash through my mind.

"You don't have to talk about it," she adds, seeing the pain on my face.

"No no, it's okay," I whisper, taking a deep breath.

"We were on our way to dinner. My dad just made a massive deal and we were going out for a celebration. Eska was in her car seat, and I sat between her and Desna. Desna always teased Eska if he sat next to her and I didn't want them to fight," I laugh bitterly at that part. If only I’d known how much worse I would make it. I continue, "Desna was mad at me for not letting him sit in the middle so he was purposefully sitting with his legs wide, pushing my legs and giving me no space. I snapped at him, he snapped back. My mother got involved and then so did my father."

I choke and stop talking. I feel the familiar heart wrenching, soul-crushing feeling that I always do when I think about the accident. I feel Miss Sato’s hand leave my back and find my arm, loosening it from its clutch on the pillow. I watch, slightly surprised, as she takes my hand in hers and tightens her grip. I look up at her eyes and I can basically see the heartbreak in them. I feel slightly taken aback. Does she care about me that much that she gets hurt when she sees me in pain? Does she care about all her students this way?

"My father turned around to shout at me, and that's when the truck hit." I continue, trying really hard not to cry further, however I can feel my jaw trembling, "it was such a stupid, meaningless childish fight... and it killed them..."

"It's not your fault," she says, reading my thoughts.

"Everyone says that," I whisper, "but if I had shut up when he told me to if I had just been the older sibling like I was supposed to be then maybe my dad would've seen the truck and hit the brakes on time... maybe they would still be alive.”

"Honey.." she whispers, her grip on my hand tightening.

"I know that the truck went through a red traffic light, that my dad wasn't in the wrong... but I can't help feeling like it’s still my fault," I manage before finding it too hard to talk anymore and letting the tears fall. I feel her arms around me, pulling me up and into her chest. She holds me again and I let myself fall into her, needing to feel her arms around me, holding my tight and keeping me safe.

"It is not your fault Korra," she whispers. I've had many people tell me that, over and over again. But hearing it come from her, somehow, she makes it seem a little bit more believable.

"I'm sorry," I say, drawing back after a while and wiping my face.

"About what?" She asks and then sees my eyes darting to the alarm clock that read 1:45 a.m. She rolls her eyes at me.

"Do I have to tell you again that I don't mind in the slightest?" She sighs, and I chuckle, making her smile.

"Good to hear that laugh," she says softly, and my heart skips a beat. What does she mean?

"Where's Yue?" I ask, looking around.

"She's waiting downstairs," She answers. I feel anxiety clutch my throat. She notices the look in my eyes.

"You didn't wake up anyone tonight," she reassures me quickly, "Yue came and called me before you got too loud."

"Good," I mutter, relieved.

"I saw the painting," she suddenly says, catching me off guard. I know she's referring to the painting I've been working on for the last two weeks in art. The Monday right after the Friday when she told me she loves dolphins I started a new painting. It's of three dolphins circling a raven-haired woman hanging like an angel in the water. The painting is of the woman from behind, so Mr. Fire or anyone else wouldn’t be able to guess who I was painting. But looking at her eyes now I know that she knows I was painting her. I feel my heartbeat quicken nervously... does she think I’m a creep? Does she find it weird? Did it make her uncomfortable?

"I love it..." she says softly, and I see that movement of something deeper flash behind her eyes. That slightly curious, questioning look, as if she's confused about something in herself. In a moment it's gone, and her expression is replaced with one of gentle care and compassion. I smile, greatly relieved. She looks up at my wall which is covered in sketches, drawings, and paintings. Most of them done by my mother.

"Your mother did these?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Most of them," I say, following her gaze.

"I see why you're so talented," she says, throwing me a playful wink that causes the butterflies in my chest to go wild. I blush, gratefully that her focus is on the artworks so that she doesn't see my cheeks go pink.

“Are you going to be okay?" She asks, turning her attention on me several moments later. I smile and nod.

"Thank you, Miss Sato," I say quietly, and she gives me a soft, caring smile, reaching over and squeezing my hand.

"Any time," she says, and I can hear the honesty in her voice. She gets up and makes her way to the door, and my eyes follow her. For the first time, I realize that all she's wearing is a pair of booty shorts and a long sleeve baseball top. I feel my heart melt at how cute she looks in that top. Then my eyes travel down to her legs, having never seen them this exposed before. My god she's beautiful... how is it fair that she looks THIS sexy...

"Goodnight Korra," she says, turning. Quickly I bring my eyes back up to where they're supposed to be looking; her face.

"Goodnight Miss," I say, and she switches off the light and closes the door gently. A few minutes later the door opens, and I see Yue slip in.

"You awake?" She whispers.

"Yeah," I say, not really in the mood to talk. Honestly, I'm looking forward to the holidays, which start in a week. With all the football practice and play rehearsals, I've barely had any time to study or do homework. It's going to get even more complicated next term when we start having soccer matches on Sunday afternoons.

You okay?" She asks, and I smile into the darkroom. I like having Yue as a friend, she's really sweet and considerate.

"I'm fine," I say.

"Okay... I'll let you catch some shut-eye," she says, and I hear her get into her bed.

"I'm sorry…" I say a few moments later. It's unfair that I wake her up like this, even though it's only happened twice so far and it's not in my control.

"Dude, don't stress, honestly," she says, and I can hear the honesty in her voice.

"Thank you," I say, gratefully, "for being so understanding."

"It's the least I can do. Goodnight Korra," she says softly, and I wish her a goodnight back. I fall asleep replaying the words Miss Sato had whispered into my hair. ‘It's okay baby, it's okay... I've got you... you're safe...’

***

"Finally," Jin groans as we walk out of our last lesson for the day. Our last lesson for the term in fact. I chuckle, agreeing with her. This week did seem to drag on. The only conversation topic this entire week has been about who is doing what this holiday.

"I can't wait to get out of here," Song says, joining Jin and me as we make our way back up to our dorm rooms to finishing packing.

"I think the first thing I'm going to do when I get home is to eat a shit ton of ice cream and catch up on Game of Thrones," Song continues, daydreaming.

"I know the first thing I'm going to do is make out with my boyfriend for an hour," Jin sighs happily and Song and I make fake gagging noises, causing Jin to shove us and roll her eyes.

"Oh my god, guys you'll never guess who's here!!" We turn to see an out of breath Yue running up to us with Jinora hot on her heels, both literally buzzing with excitement.

“Who’s here??” Jin and Song ask, curiously.

“Bolin Earth!!” Jinora bursts out, just as out of breath as Yue.

“What?!?” Both Jin and Song scream excitedly, looking over Yue and Jinora as if they expect to see Bolin Earth.

“That’s weird,” I say, frowning, “I thought he was sending a butler to fetch me…”

“What?” All four ask and turn towards me.

“Bolin Earth is my Godfather,” I laugh, and they stare at me with wide eyes and open mouths.

“You mean to tell me that your legal guardian is Bolin Fucking Earth?” Jin asks, shocked. I nod, amused by their facial expressions.

“You live with Bolin Earth?” Song confirms and I nod again, chucking.

“We’ve known you for two months and you failed to mention that Bolin Earth is your Godfather?” Jinora says, utterly blown away. I turn and start walking towards the houses again.

“Guys it’s no big deal,” I say, shrugging and they follow me.

“No big deal?? Oh, he’s only the wealthiest man in London, and one of the top richest men in Europe,” Yue says, somewhat sarcastically.

“Not to mention how gorgeous he is,” Song adds, and I throw her a gross stare.

“Come on,” I say, “he’s 35.”

“And bloody handsome,” Jin agrees with Song, and I roll my eyes at the two of them.

“Okay sorry, Korra but I agree with them,” Jinora admits.

“Ewww,” I mutter, “I’m never inviting any of you over.”

All the way until the house I’m bombarded with questions about all his different cars, how many houses he has and where, where do we live in London and how come he’s my godfather. I manage to be very vague with all my answers, which annoys them but after a while, they give up.

“What’s he like as a person?” Yue asks while we pack our bags. This question kind of throws me off guard. Up until now, the questions haven’t been this personal.

“He’s nice. Well, he’s nice to me, he’s a really good guy. When he’s talking to his colleagues and friends he puts on a bit of a masculine and tough-guy persona,” I say, thinking about it. Bolin has always made an effort in the past to call my family whenever any of us had a birthday and to visit at least twice a year, despite his busy schedule.

“How come he’s not married?” Yue asks, and I laugh at that.

“He’s a bit of a ladies man I guess,” I say, smirking, “but also because it’s hard to trust if people like you for who you are or if they like you because of your financial status.”

“Is that why you didn’t tell any of us?” Yue asks, suddenly understanding my situation. I nod.

“Now I don’t mind you knowing… I wanted to make friends first before everyone found out that my guardian is one of the wealthiest businessmen in the world,” I say.

“I totally get that,” she says, nodding.

We finish packing and drag our bags down the stairs with all the other girls who are eager to leave and go home. I exchange my number with Jin, Song, Yue, and Jinora on our way down to the reception, where all the parents and drivers are waiting to pick up the year 12s and 11s (the rest go home tomorrow morning). Sure enough, when I enter reception and look around the room, I see Bolin standing there talking to some other adults, a bodyguard, and a butler behind him. I make my way over to him. He notices me as soon as I’m a few meters away and beams.

“Korra!” He almost shouts, and strides over, pulling me into a hug. I hug him back, smiling. As hard as it is to admit that he is my only remaining intimate family, I’m happy it is him. He’s been more involved in my life than any of my uncles or aunts.

"Hi Bo," I say as we pull back from each other.

"You didn't contact me all term," he says, frowning in slight concern.

"I didn't need anything, I told you I would be fine," I say, giving him a reassuring look.

"So, you've enjoyed it here?" He asks, beaming. At that moment I see a glimpse of the gorgeous, curved figure with flawless wavy raven hair. My heart automatically skips a beat

"I love it here," I say, smiling shyly, my eyes still glued to the beautiful woman, who has turned her head, allowing me to see her bright, enchanting smile and soft yet striking features.

"Who is that?" I hear Bolin ask, and I look up to see him staring with raised eyebrows at the same raven-haired woman I was checking out. He is also mesmerized by Miss Sato; how could I blame him.

"That," I say, turning my attention to him, "is my English and Literature Teacher, Miss Sato."

"That's your teacher?" He says, in disbelief, his eyes still fixated on her.

"Yes," I chuckle. I don't blame him. Most of the men in the room are staring, wives glaring at their gawking married partners.

"Be a dear and introduce me," he says, winking at me and straightening his jacket I feel a shiver of annoyance and jealousy run down my back. I shake off my feelings. Why am I annoyed and jealous? She's not mine. All she is my teacher and mentor. That's it I'll never have a shot with her so I might as well get over myself now.

"Do you know Azula Sozin?" Bolin asks me as I lead him towards Miss Sato. Around us, heads turn, and I hear whispers. I'm used to it when I'm walking with my godfather. Bolin adds, "she's one of the students here."

"Yeah, I do..." I say, my eyes finding the blond spoiled brat standing with her minions, all of them staring at me with disdain.

"Don't befriend her," he says, and I look back at him with surprise, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Her father and I are far from being on good terms, and her mother is a bitch," her mutters and I laugh.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," I say, and he chuckles. We reach Miss Sato and she notices us, smiling when she sees me. The two parents she was speaking to peel away, staring at my godfather with intimidated wide eyes.

"Hello Korra," she says, her eyes flickering to Bolin. She doesn't look intimidated, nor does she look impressed. She just looks him over with mild interest. Part of me rejoices in celebration. Hopefully, she won't be interested when he flirts with her, which would be a first for Bolin.

"Hi Miss Sato," I greet in return, "this is my godfather, Bolin Earth."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Earth," she says, extending a hand, which he takes. He leans down and gently kisses her hand like a true gentleman. I resist the urge to gag. She glances at me and hides her smile when she sees me roll my eyes.

"Please do call me Bolin," he says, straightening and giving her a charming smile that would make any woman swoon. I scan her face for any sign of blush or anything, but I see nothing. She must get this often, what with her elegance and looks. I have to say, as happy as I am that she shows no interest in my godfather I am quite surprised. He's been voted at most good looking businessman several times, and he's found on the cover of magazines often, mostly under the title 'how to be gorgeous and rich' or 'hottest billionaire'.

"Mr. Earth," a masculine voice interrupts us, and we all look to the source of the voice. A businessman, who looks like he's in his early 50s, walks over with a woman who looks like an elderly Azula. I notice Azula walking next to what must clearly her mother, confirming my theory. These must be her parents.

"Ah. Mr. Sozin," Bolin says stiffly. The tension between the two rings through the air.

"This must be your goddaughter," Mr. Sozin says, his gaze falling on me, he adds rather emotionlessly, "condolences for your loss."

I give a short nod in an equally emotionless thanks.

"How does it feel to have the responsibility of a child?" Azula's mother asks, and I can hear the venom dripping from her tone. In no way was that question meant nicely.

"Parents, if we could please keep work-related feuds away from your girls' school relationships," Miss Sato cuts in before Bolin has a chance to respond, stopping a war before it begins. She speaks kindly, with no anger, yet somehow, she manages to silence the other adults and bring them to their senses. I admire her even more.

"You are very right Miss Sato," Bolin says, smiling at her, completely recovered from his anger towards Misses Sozin’s comment. He turns to me, "shall we go Korra?"

"Yes," I respond, feeling my own annoyance as I see the smug smirk on Azula's face. I turn to Miss Sato and smile, realizing I won't be seeing her for two weeks.

"Goodbye Miss Sato, I hope you have a good break," I say, and she beams at me, her mellow green eyes sparkling.

"Goodbye Korra, same to you. I'll see you next term," she says. My stomach lurches at how beautiful she is as I turn away. I follow my godfather out reception and to the parking, the butler Aiwei and the bodyguard follow with my suitcases. The parking lot itself is filled with expensive Bentleys, Mercedes, BMWs, Audi's and pretty much every other rich people brand car you can think of. Bolin leads us to a Lincoln Limousine, and opens one of the doors, allowing me in first before he follows. I don't know if I'll ever get used to this sort of luxurious lifestyle. In Cape Town, when I was still with my family, we lived well off, just not drives-a-sports-car-and-lives-in-a-mansion well off.

Aiwei puts the bags in the back and gets in the driver’s seat, the bodyguard getting in the seat next to him. The two hours back to London are long, but Bolin, being the social man he is, keeps conversation with me pretty much the entire way, asking me about my teachers, classes, the friends I've made, the play I'm now in, football and of course he wants to know all about Miss Sato. I appreciate that Bolin isn't vain and narcissistic and that he cares to ask how I'm doing. I can see he's trying hard to be a good guardian. He avoids the topic of my family though. Like me, he gets uncomfortable talking about personal things, which is why I like living with him. We also share the same sense of humor.

"By the way," Bolin says as we're pulling into the car garage for the building, we live in. It still feels weird to say 'we', even though I need to get used to the fact that I do live here now. This is my home. At that thought I remember what Miss Sato said to me a few weeks ago… ’you will accept a new home when you find love again.'

"There is an art exhibition I have been personally invited to by a good friend. I know you love art. Would you like to join me?" He continues, and I smile gratefully and nod.

"Definitely. When is it?" I ask.

"Tomorrow night. It's a bit of a fancy thing if you like you can take my credit card into the city tomorrow and buy an outfit. Don't worry about the price," he says, winking and fishing out his wallet, pulling out a card and handing it to me.

"You know I have money Bo," I say, laughing. I do have money. 2.5 million pounds to be exact. All the money from my parent’s life insurance plus the money from selling our house and my father’s business. Technically speaking, Bolin has the right to decide where that money goes, that's what it says in my parents' will. However, my parents never thought that when they died, they would be traveling to heaven with two of their children. Also, Bolin doesn't need any of the money and got angry when several of my family members came after him telling him that some of that money should go to them. So, Bolin made me a bank account and transferred all the money left to me into it, for me to use however I wish and whenever I wish.

"Korra don't be ridiculous. Use your money for when you're getting properly started in your life. Let me be your guardian and pay for necessities like your school fees, clothes, outings, and food," he says, tittering at me. I smile.

***

Asami's POV

"Opal?" I call into my apartment as I open the door. I hear a sequel from somewhere in the apartment and laugh. I drag my bags in and shut the door, before turning and being attacked by the short girl.

"Asaaaammiii!" The girl yells excitedly and I throw my arms around her waist, hugging her back.

"It's good to see you too Ope," I chuckle. She pulls back and holds my face in her hands and studies me hard.

"It's been so long I've forgotten what your face looks like!" She jokes. "You say that every time," I smile and roll my eyes

"Agh I've missed you,” She says, helping me take my suitcases to my room, "the chick who's been staying here has been such a drag. So boringggg!"

Opal and I rent this apartment together, and when I'm at school teaching, she rents out my room to students or pretty much anyone who needs a place to stay. She's a surgeon, and very capable of paying the full rent, however a little extra money has never hurt anyone.

"Really?" I ask, amused. For the next two hours, we catch each other up on everything that's happened in the past ten weeks in our lives. Her stories happening to be a lot more interesting than mine, which isn't surprising considering I've been spending all my time with high school girls on a boarding school premises.

"Oh, by the way, Mako invited me to some art exhibition tonight because his partner is out of town and he has a plus-one invite. I told him I'd go, is that okay?" I say, suddenly seeing the time and realizing I should probably shower and start to get ready.

"Mako Fire? That gorgeous art teacher you have the blessing of working with?" Opal asks before adding, "oh and of course it's okay, I actually have a surgeon’s dinner tonight."

"Yes, that Mako," I say, laughing at her comment. She was devastated when I told her he is gay when she first met him three years ago.

"Such a pity that beautiful specimen is gay," she sighs, "although I still envy you. All that eye candy!"

"You're ridiculous," I laugh.

"Do you need to borrow one of my dresses for tonight? Is it a fancy thing?" She asks, and I give her an 'obviously' look. It's not that I don't have dresses, of course, I do, however, Opal has the most amazing taste, and I'm betting she has new outfits that have been added to her collection since last I saw her.

"Pick whatever," she laughs, and then points towards my room, "now go shower! I want to do your make up, make you look hot. Maybe you can get a date."

"Agh," I groan at the mention of me getting a date. If my parents aren't trying to hook me up with men, then Opal is.

"Oh, come on Asami, you've been single for over a year now!" She groans back at me. I roll my eyes at her as I make my way to my room to shower.

"Why can't you and my parents just let me find someone on my own terms," I yell from my bedroom as I strip myself of my clothes.

"Speaking of your parents, aren't they in town?" Opal asks, entering my room and plopping herself down on my bed.

"Mhmm," I nod, walking into my bathroom and switching on the shower, "they're going to be at the exhibition tonight."

"Well then you better be prepared, we both know your mother has probably found another suitor she wants to match you with," she says from my room as I step into the shower. I know she's right. I sigh. It's even worse that I can't use Mako as a beard anymore, now that he has come out publicly as gay, and is open about his relationship with his boyfriend. Before, when I didn't want my mother to set me up with someone, I'd just take Mako as my date. I can't do that anymore now that she's seen him with his boyfriend on Facebook.

"How come they're going to be at the exhibition tonight?" She asks from my room as I apply shampoo to my hair.

"I accidentally mentioned that I am going tonight when I was on the phone with my mother earlier," I say, slapping myself mentally as I remember the slip up. My parents have connections everywhere. They could get themselves an invite to Buckingham palace if they wished. I voice my thoughts to Opal. “and you know how they are. My mother got all excited, and said she was going to call some people and get her and my father invites because she wants to see me and is 'in the mood for some art'."

I hear Opal laughing from my bedroom.

"Your mother kills me Asami," she chuckles. I roll my eyes, but inside I'm smiling. I love my mother to bits, even though she gets on my nerves.

After my shower, Opal helps me pick out a red dress that compliments all my curves and shows of part of my legs and a decent amount of cleavage. She also picks out matching red six-inch Louis Vuitton's and helps me style my hair into a fancy bun with purposely placed loose curls. She finishes my make up just as there's a knock at our front door, and she squeals, rushing to the front door to let Mako in, wanting to get some 'fresh eye candy' as she puts it. I chuckle and shake my head at my best friend as I put my phone and lipstick into my purse. I walk out the room and down the passageway, loving the clicking sound of my heels. I feel good, confident in this dress.

"Wow," Mako says, his eyes wide as he sees me.

"Oh, you do look gorgeous," Opal says, looking me up and down, "it's not fair you look better in my clothes then I do."

"Thank you," I say to Mako, walking up to him and giving him a kiss on his cheek before turning to Opal and saying, "Ope we both know that's not true."

"Go have fun you two, I'll see you later," she says, slapping my ass playfully.

"You really do look beautiful, Miss Sato," he says as we make our way to his car.

"Why thank you, Mr. Fire," I respond, going along with his playful formality, "you don't look too bad yourself."

He does look very handsome in his suit. I do understand why all our students pour over him with heart eyes.

In an hour we're walking into the exhibit, which is filled with artworks lining the pale white walls. Businessmen and beautiful women stand talking to each other over glasses of wine or champagne or stand admiring the paintings and talking to the artists. Soft music plays over the conversations, and waiters weave their way through the people with trays of wine, champagne, and fancy entrails.

"Fancy," I whisper into Mako's ear, and he smiles.

"Thank you for coming with me," he says gratefully.

"Of course," I say, slipping a hand around the arm which he offers me. As we walk in, I notice the stares I get from the men (and some women) around me, of course, I notice them, I always do. I however I choose to ignore them.

The younger women, mostly gold digger models here with their sugar daddies, stare at Mako and blush.

"Mako!!" A man says, spotting us, "So happy you could come!"

"Ahh! Haru! Of course, I came," Mako says, lighting up and shaking the man’s hand. He looks young, in his early thirties, and is one of the artists judging by his long hair in a man bun and ragged beard.

"And who might you be?" He asks, turning to me and giving me a flirtatious smile, his eyes traveling up and down my body.

"Haru, this is Asami, a fellow colleague of mine," he says, introducing me, "Asami, this is Haru. An artist friend of mine."

"Nice to meet you Haru," I say, giving him a polite smile and shaking his hand.

"Would you two like to join us?" Haru asks, gesturing to the group he was standing with before.

"We'd love too," Mako says, snatching up two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter and handing one to me. We join the group of two other artists and their young model girlfriends, and pretty soon I stop paying attention to the conversation about the latest modern artist and let my gaze scan the room as I sip my champagne.

Suddenly, my eyes come to a stop on a woman, and my breath catches in my throat. Even though I can only see her from behind, I know she's by far the most beautiful woman in the room, and that's saying something. Half the models in London are in this room. 

She's wearing a black open back dress that hugs her perfectly curved thin waist. My eyes travel down to her ass and further down to an exposed leg from a slit in her dress. Her skin is tanned, and her muscles stand out, her calves looking unbelievably mouthwatering from her heels. My eyes return back up to her back muscles, and I take a guess that she's either a swimmer or very athletic. I unconsciously bite my lip. I have to see this woman’s face.

I watch her intently, waiting patiently for her to turn. In the meanwhile, I acknowledge how beautiful her hair is, cascading down to her shoulders. I sip my champagne. She turns her attention to someone else in her group. Her neck looks as appetizing as her legs, her jawline sharp, her dimples showing as she laughs at something someone says. Wait a second… I suddenly think, frowning slightly. That smile is awfully familiar... I stare at her more intently, realizing that something about her looks annoyingly familiar… although try as I might, I can’t put my finger on it.

Then she turns, and her cerulean eyes meet mine, stopping my thought process. Her eyes are so sharp it feels like she’s right in front of me, even though she’s halfway across the room. My god, she’s beautiful… I think before suddenly feeling a sinking, clicking feeling in my chest as my brain makes sense of why she looks so familiar.

Oh shit.


	11. Chapter 11

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 11  
\--  
Korra's POV

My brain stops working as soon as my gaze locks with hers. It's as if everything slows down and the noise tunes out. I know it’s her, and I can see the change in her eyes as she realizes who I am. But just before it clicks that I'm her student there's another look in her eyes... however I can't quite figure out what that look is.

She looks absolutely breathtaking... she always looks breathtaking, but right now she really has taken my breath away. I haven't seen her out of a professional setting before. Even when I help her on Saturdays with the vegetable patches, she still dressed somewhat professionally. Now however she looks like the elegant woman she is, her red dress hugging all the right places and showing just enough to send me and probably all the other men in this room off the edge, but yet she's left enough to the imagination.

Fucking hell. she's the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.

"Korra?" My godfather's voice calls me back to reality, and I tear my eyes away from my captivating eyes of my English teacher. I look up at him, blinking.

"Sorry?" I say, feeling myself going slightly red as I see the other faces around me staring at me as if expecting me to answer a question.

"Wang here just asked you what you want to study at university.." he says, frowning at me in confusion, giving me a questioning look.

"Oh sorry," I apologize, "I just thought I saw someone I know."

I glance over my shoulder and catch Miss Sato looking away. Was she still staring at me?

"Um, I'd like to either go into journalism or accounting, I'm still not sure," I say, turning my attention back to the group of adults around me, "I'm terribly sorry, but excuse me for a moment."

I say, stepping away from the group. They all look surprised by my suddenly strange behavior. I throw Bolin an ‘I’ll explain later' look and he nods, understandingly, and turns to the group, asking a question and causing them to smile and forget about my weird actions. I turn and look back at Miss Sato, who's eyes are glued on me. I feel my stomach flip. What is she doing here? Seeing her completely caught me off guard. Suddenly I notice Mr. Fire, who leans over to her and says something, and she pulls her gaze off of me.

Ahh. It makes more sense now. I'd expect to see Mr. Fire here, and he obviously brought Miss Sato along as a date...

My heart drops. A date. Are they dating? Are they together? The thought makes me feel sick inside, even though I know I have no right to feel that way.

Miss Sato says something to him, and he turns, his eyes scanning the crowd before finding me. A smile spreads across his face as he straightens and excuses himself from his group. He makes his way over to me, and I force myself to smile back and act normal, even though I still haven't recovered from seeing Miss Sato, especially with how she looks tonight. I also start walking and meet Mr. Fire halfway.

"Korra!" He says, happy to see me, "I should have expected to see you here!"

"Hello Mr. Fire," I chuckle, glancing at Miss Sato who is cautiously walking to join us. Is she uncomfortable that I'm here? Does she not like seeing students out of school? I'm not sure... I can't read the look in her eyes or her facial expression.

"Please, call me Mako outside of school," he says, smiling at me.

"Okay," I say smiling. Miss Sato joins us, standing next to Mako, her eyes still fixated on me. I realize how hard and fast my heart is beating.

"H-hello Miss Sato," I greet her nervously, my gaze meeting hers. The deeper, almost dark look that rings with question, curiosity, and confusion that I've seen a few times now in her eyes vanishes, and she smiles. I feel relief washing over me.

"Hello Korra," she says. I smile back.

"Do you mind if I leave you ladies?" Mako says, distractedly, staring off somewhere.

"Not at all," I say and he throws me a grateful smile before walking off to another group. I turn my attention back to Miss Sato, only to catch her look away. Was she staring at me again?

Just then I see a waiter walk past with a tray of champagne. I lean over and snatch one up. I need some alcohol to stop my thoughts from being so muddled up. Just as I'm about to take a sip I feel a soft hand catch my arm and steal away my glass.

"I don't think so," Miss Sato laughs, and I facepalm myself as I remember that she's my teacher and I'm still underage.

"Oh, come on," I groan, but I'm smiling. At least it doesn't feel awkward between us.

"You're seventeen," she states, chuckling as she takes a sip of the champagne she just stole from me.

"No one here knows that," I say, gesturing around.

"I do," she says. I feel a shiver running down my back. She's looking at me with a playful look in her eye and a teasing sly smile on her lips. She's never looked at me like this before. She continues, "and are you forgetting that I also happen to be your teacher?"

"Fine," I sigh dramatically, "whatever you say, Miss Sato."

Her eyes dart around as if she's making sure no one heard that. I suddenly remember that we're outside of school, and if anyone heard me calling her Miss Sato, they might assume she is my teacher, and it might look strange to see a teacher and her student socializing under these conditions. She purses her lips together as if pondering something.

"Asami," she finally says, looking at me again.

"What?" I ask, slightly confused. Does she mean that's her name? And that I must call her by her first name?

“Call me Asami outside of school," she restates and a smile forms on my face. I knew she would have an attractive name.

"Alright," I say, smiling.

"So, what are you doing here?" She asks.

"My godfather was invited by a friend. I just came along," I say. ‘And thank god I did come along,’ I think as I resist the urge to check her out again. I add, "and why are you here?"

"Mako invited me," she says, stating something I had already guessed. I desperately think of a way to ask her or figure out if she was here as his date or as friends...

"Very fancy date," I state and watch her for a reaction. She bursts out laughing, surprising me.

"Oh no," she says, "most definitely not as a date. His partner is out of town and he had a plus one."

I feel relieved, as stupid as that sounds. Then I feel slightly stupid and remember my theory that Mr. Fire, or Mako, is gay. Also, if she was his date wouldn't she be by his side right now?

"I knew Mr. Fire was gay," I suddenly smirk. She did after all just confirm my theory, referring to his real date as his 'partner'.

"I never said he was gay," she says suddenly as if realizing what she just said and how it might've sounded.

"You said his 'partner' instead of 'girlfriend'," I say grinning slyly. She bites her lip as she thinks of something to say to that.

"It could've easily meant his wife or fiancé," she tries.

"Then he would be wearing a ring," I laugh, "plus you're defending yourself. That just confirms that he is."

I think before I speak next.

"Plus, I highly doubt a woman would trust their man with..." I pause,

Her eyes tell me she knows what I meant and a sly smile tugs at the corner of her lips. She says nothing.

"Don't worry," I reassure her, "I won't tell anyone if that's what you're thinking."

"Thank you," she sighs, gratefully. Obviously, she was feeling bad that she just let something from Mako's personal life slip. She then frowns and tilts her head and asks, "how did you know he was gay?"

"He's good looking, he has amazing taste in style, looks after himself very well and teaches art," I say, and hesitate before adding, "plus he teaches at an all-girls school. If he were straight, he would teach at an all-boys school in order to resist the urge of biological attraction to a female student, which would be illegal. Instead, he's had to do it the other way around."

I watch her reaction carefully. I know that last part was a risky move, she might find it inappropriate, considering she's also a teacher.

“And you don't think that if he were straight, he'd be able to control himself? What makes you so sure that he'd be attracted to a student?" She asks, and I smirk, grateful that she doesn't seem phased by what I just said, just curious for my reasoning behind it.

"Have you ever met a straight male man?" I laugh, and she smiles, seeing what I'm getting at. I continue, "imagine any other good-looking arrogant male in his position, all his students basically throwing themselves at him."

"I see your point," she says, nodding slowly, smirking as she takes another sip of champagne. I feel another shiver rush over my body. Fuck she looks sexy when she smirks...

"Excuse me, ladies," a voice causes both of us to look up at a man neither of us had notice approach.

"Would either of you care to join me at the bar? Drinks on me," he asks, charmingly, flashing a flirtatious smile, his eyes scanning both of us. I resist the gag I feel coming along. I glance over at Asami and notice her shifting her weight uncomfortably. She probably feels weird being hit on in front of a student or maybe she feels weird about the fact that he hit on both her and her student.

"No thank you," I say, giving him a polite smile.

"Are you sure? Two beautiful women like yourselves shouldn't be alone, allow me to be your man," he says, and I feel disgust rise like bile. In the corner of my eye, I see Asami’s jaw clench and her hand tightens on her glass.

"Yeah I'm sure," I say, not even bothering with a polite smile this time.

"Whatever suits you, sweetie," he says and turns to Asami, "how about you?"

"I think she feels the same way as me," I say, stepping closer to Asami. Then I do probably the bravest or the stupidest thing I have done in my life so far and gently slide my arm around her waist, pulling her closer to me, "and I'd prefer it if you didn't hit on my girlfriend."

I feel her stiffen under my touch, completely and utterly caught off guard. I feel her eyes staring into me, however she's too surprised to respond or pull away. I feel satisfaction as the man raises his eyes in surprise. Then he smirks.

"I'm into that," he says, winking. Asami is still staring at me in shock. "Yeah, we're not," I say, giving him a ‘you can go now' look.

"Okay, your loss," he says, raising his hands in defeat and walking away, probably going on the search for some other poor woman to harass. I watch him go until he's out of sight, and then step back, pulling back my arm. I feel nervous. What I just did might have caused Asami to feel even more uncomfortable or pissed her off? I look up into her eyes, which are still wide in surprise, her lips slightly parted. Slowly a sly smile forms on her lips, and I return the smile in relief. She doesn't look pissed or annoyed.

"You're welcome," I smirk.

"Why did you just do that," she laughs, scanning the crowd to see where our harasser just went off too.

"You were starting to look uncomfortable. Also, I kind of wanted him to go away, he was creepy," I say, shrugging. Her gaze returns to mine. Her eyes search mine, for what? I'm not sure.

"'Thank you," she says, chuckling and taking a sip of her champagne, "but let's refrain from that happening again. Let me handle it next time."

"Sure thing," I say, grinning. Her gaze moves from me to something or someone behind me and her smile drops, and her body stiffens.

"Fuck," she mutters, surprising me. I never thought I'd hear that word coming out of her mouth. I turn and see three people coming our way, one of them being the man I just chased away. The second person was an elderly woman who looks like she's in her sixties with familiar light green eyes, and the third was an elderly looking gentleman. Something about him was extremely familiar.

"Please follow my lead," I hear Asami whisper in my ear, suddenly very close to me. I feel goosebumps ignite over the skin on my neck from where her breath brushes.

"Asami!" The elderly raven-haired woman greets as the three near us.

"Hello mother," Asami says, and I glance between the two women, suddenly everything makes sense. The older woman does look exactly like an older version of Asami. I glance at the elderly gentleman next to Asami’s mother and assume he must be Asami’s father. My eyes flicker to the creep next to her parents, who looks very uncomfortable.

"And who might this be?" The older raven-haired woman asks, smiling, her eyes fixing on me.

"Mother," Asami starts, and I stiffen as I feel her arm gently snake around my waist, her hand resting on the small of my back. Her mere touch causes me to temporarily lose all track of thought, sending shivers all over my skin in the most delightful sensation I've probably ever felt. She continues, "this is my girlfriend, Korra. Korra, this is my mother, Yasuko."

It takes me a few seconds to catch on and get my thoughts in line. I remember Asami’s words telling me to follow her lead, so I do. In my mind, I already have several questions which I intend to ask Asami later.

It turns out I'm not the only one taken aback by Asami’s words and actions. Her mother’s eyes widen in surprise, and she takes a few seconds to register. However, she smiles and moves forward and hugs me, pulling back and scanning me up and down.

"Korra! How wonderful to meet you!" She says, and I smile politely. "It's wonderful to meet you too, Misses Sato," I say.

"Oh, no need to call me that! You can call me Yasuko," she says. She's very sweet, extremely kind too.

"Asami why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?!" She says, turning to her daughter. I smirk. I turn and look at Asami too, tilting my head and giving her a raised eyebrow look, like I too would like to know.

"I didn't have the time to mom,' she says, sighing.

"Hello daddy," she says, turning to her father before her mother can ask her any more questions. She removes her arm from my waist and moves forward to hug her father hello. I smile. I find it incredibly adorably that she calls her father 'daddy'. Like me, she clearly was, or in her case is, a daddy's girl

"Hello Asami, my dear," he greets her back before turning to me and giving me a warm smile, "it's nice to meet you Korra."

"It's nice to meet you too, sir," I say, taking his extended hand.

"No need for formalities. Call me Hiroshi," he says. I stiffen again as I feel Asami’s arm slide around my waist again, yet at the same time, I realize I actually missed it being there. It's almost as if I feel safer.

"If I had known that you weren't single, I wouldn't have brought this lovely young man to introduce to you," Yasuko says, gesturing to the man from earlier, who looks horribly out of place and embarrassed. ‘So this must be why Asami is pretending I'm her girlfriend... she doesn't want to be set up with this man...’ I think to myself, making sense of the situation.

"Why didn't you tell me on the phone call earlier that you had found a girlfriend?" Yasuko asks Asami. Suddenly I realize how relaxed her parents are, as if the fact that seeing their daughter with another female was nothing they didn't expect? Does this mean Asami has brought home girlfriends before? Is she bi? I feel my heart sing with hope.

"You didn't ask," Asami says simply.

"But how could you not Asami?! I mean look at her! She's gorgeous!" Her mouth says, staring me up and down. I blush and then smirk at Asami. Her mom thinks I'm gorgeous. She gives me a quick warning look but quickly smiles at her mom.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to get some fresh air,” Asami excuses us from her parents, and turns to me and tilts her head, "are you coming, babe?"

"She is gorgeous," she says, pulling me into her. My heart flutters at her words and I blush further. ‘Oh, stop letting it get to your head Korra,’ I remind myself that this is an act. But I can't help hoping that Asami really does think that of me.

I'm loving this. Loving every second of it. I only wish this was real and not only an act.

"Of course,” I say, smiling. Asami's fingers interlock with mine, causing my speeding heart to skip and my butterflies to go wild. She leads me to an open balcony, and closes the sliding door behind us, making sure we are alone. Her hand lets go of mine and I try to ignore the fact that I immediately miss it She takes a deep breath and sighs.

"Mind explaining all that to me?" I ask, smirking and leaning on the banister. She looks up at me and a small smile plays on her lips. I definitely notice the playful gleam light up in her eyes.

"Wipe that smug look off your face," she says, giving me a fake glare, but I sense the teasing tone in her voice. I wait for her to continue. 

"As you probably gathered, those are my parents," she says, turning and looking out at the beautiful night view of the city, "my mother loves to set me up with men. She hates the fact that I'm still single, and both my siblings are married. Including my younger sister. I saw that the man she intended to match me up with tonight was the same man that you scared away by pretending that we were together. It would be strange if suddenly we were no longer together, and also I am in no mood to be set up with anyone by my mother’s hand."

"Ahhh okay," I say, nodding, understanding the situation fully now, "I understand."

"Thank you," she says, looking at me and smiling softly.

"For what?" I ask. What could she possibly be thanking me for?

"For following my lead. Helping me avoid an awkward situation of me having to go out on a date with some man and have to tell him at the end of the night that I only did it for my mother," she says, chuckling slightly.

"Anytime," I grin, "glad I could help."

"Do you feel awkward?" She asks, suddenly.

"About what exactly?" I ask although I know exactly what she means.

"The fact that I treated you like my girlfriend even though you are my student. Will you be able to feel okay in class?" She asks, and I'm hit with the horrible reminder that she is indeed my teacher.

"No," I say, reassuring her with a smile.

"Good," she says, relieved. She looks out at the view again. I stare at her, unable to tear my gaze away from this beautiful goddess in front of me.

"Do you feel awkward?" I ask, suddenly curious now She looks at me sharply and hesitates before answering, searching my eyes as she thinks. Again, I notice that darker, deeper, confused, unsure, questioning look flash through her gaze. She takes a deep breath and looks away again.

"No, I don't," she says and pauses before adding, "I do however ask that we maintain a professional student and teacher relationship at school and around students. Also, I trust that you will not tell anyone what has happened so far tonight?"

"Of course," I say, completely understanding where she's coming from, "professional at school and around students. And no, I won't speak a word of any of this to anyone."

"Thank you," she says, smiling gratefully at me. We stand in silence for a few moments, and I ponder whether or not I should ask her what I'm dying to ask her.

"Can I ask you something?" I say hesitantly. she looks at me and nods, scanning my face as she waits for me to ask my question.

"Your parents..." I start, carefully planning how I want to phrase this question, "they weren't surprised when you introduced me as your girlfriend... I mean they were surprised but they weren't shocked that I am, well... female..."

By the look in her eye, I can see that she's understood what it is that I'm asking.

“Are you delicately asking if I'm attracted to women?" She asks, smirking slyly, clearly amused. I blush.

"I'm tiptoeing around that question, yes," I confirm. She looks at me carefully, thinking to herself.

"Why do you ask?" She asks, skirting around my question and surprising me with her own. I fumble quickly for an answer that doesn't make me sound like an idiot.

"Curiosity," I say simply. She purses her lips, thinking again.

"You don't have to answer... it is rather a personal question," I say quickly, realizing that it must be hard for her to decide what is and what isn't appropriate to tell me.

“May I ask another question then?" I add, and she smiles, turning her full attention to me.

"Go ahead," she says.

"How old are you?" I ask. She groans and then laughs.

"What is it with you girls and wanting to know my age," she says, sighing.

"Okay fine don't tell me," I say, chuckling, "how about I get three guesses and if I guess right you tell me, but if I guess wrong I'll just never know and I won't ask again."

"fine," she says skeptically, after a pause. I feel triumph at the fact she looks amused by our conversation.

"24," I ask, causing her to smile. She shakes her head.

"Okay... well it's your third-year teaching... and if you went to uni for roughly 4 years that would mean you'd be around 21 or 22 when you started teaching? But that would mean you would be twenty-four if I'm doing that math right… unless you took a gap year?"

Her smile grows as I speak.

"What are you smiling at?" I ask, suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed. She opens her mouth to answer and the catches herself and closes it.

"Never mind," she says, hiding her smile. Why did she have to catch herself before answering?

"Go on," she says, gesturing for me to continue.

"Umm... 25?" 1 say, not at all sure. She smirks and shakes her head again.

"Dammit... okay are you older or younger than 25?" I ask.

"I'm not giving you any clues," she smirks, watching me with interest. "26?" I ask, hoping I'm right. I see a twitch in her expression. Bingo.

"Haha!" I punch the air triumphantly.

"How do you know you're right?" She questions, laughing at my victory celebration.

"Well first of all you're not denying it," I smirk. She watches me carefully before letting out a groan and looking away, a sly smile tugging on her lips, confirming my guess. She's twenty-six.

"You age well," I complement, changing the topic slightly.

"Thank you," she says, throwing me a small smile, "I get it from my mother."

"You mentioned that you have siblings?" I ask a few silent moments later. I hardly know anything about Asami, and this is a perfect opportunity to learn more.

"Yes. Two of them," she says, "an older brother and a younger sister."

"What's the age difference?" I ask, happy that she's open to talking about herself.

"Well my older brother, Iroh, is three years older than me. My younger sister, Mai, is four years younger than me," she says, and I watch her while she talks. I can't get over how beautiful she is.

"Iroh, Mai, and Asami... your parents have good naming skills," I say, and she smiles. The sliding door behind us suddenly opens, causing us both to turn. I'd completely forgotten about the art exhibition.

"Sorry ladies, didn't mean to startle you," Mako says, stepping out onto the balcony, "I just bumped into your parents Asami… they mentioned you having a girlfriend?"

I glance over at Asami, who looks panicked by his words.

"Long story," she says, and he chuckles.

"I'm all ears," he says, "I feel like this story is going to be a good one."

"A man approached Korra and I while we were talking. In order for him to leave us alone I hinted that we were together," she says, and I feel slightly taken aback. She's covering for me. She continues, "it turns out that he was the man that my mother wanted to set me up with. So Korra played the part of my girlfriend so that I wouldn't have to be matched up."

"Oh my god," Mako laughs, surprising me. I was panicking that he would be shocked. I realize how uptight I was feeling the entirety of Asami’s speech. I really was fearing that she would get in trouble. I look over at Asami who is also smiling as if she knew Mako would respond this way. The two of them must be close.

"Sorry Korra, that you were dragged into this," he turns to me, still laughing, clearly finding the situation hilarious.

"I don't mind," I say grinning, and Asami throws me a grateful smile.

"I also bumped into your godfather," he says to me after he's done laugh, "he's looking for you."

With everything that had happened in the last half an hour I had completely forgotten my godfather as well.

"There you are Korra," Bolin says, appearing as if summoned from behind my art teacher’s shoulder.

"Sorry Bo," I say, apologetically.

"It's fine," he says, I saw you with your teachers and assumed those were the people you thought you recognized."

"Excuse me a moment," Mako pardons himself and runs off yet again. He must know a lot of people here.

"Hello Miss Sato," Bo says, giving Miss Sato a charming smile when he sees her.

"Please call me Asami," she says, again not at all phased by his charm.

"Asami," he tries, "what a beautiful name."

"Thank you," she says politely. Even I can see Bo’s surprise at the fact she's not at all swooning over him already.

"Oh," he turns to me, suddenly remembering something,"Korra, on Monday morning through to Wednesday afternoon I'll be in Denmark. However, I remember you saying how you wanted to go to Brighton, so I thought that maybe you could take those few days while I'm away and go down to the beach?" 

"Sounds like a great idea,' I say, beaming.

"Although... I'm not sure how keen I am on the idea of you being alone..." he suddenly says frowning. Suddenly an idea pops in my head, and I turn to Asami and give her a look. Her eyes widen as she suddenly realizes what I'm about to suggest. I smirk and mouth you owe me' and turn back to my godfather.

"Miss Sato can go with me," I suggest, and his eyes lighten up.

"Good idea! Would you mind Asami? Don't worry, I'll pay for all the expenses," he says, turning to her. nook at her too and laugh at her expression. She most definitely is caught off guard and is struggling to find an answer she looks at me and I mouth ‘you owe me' again.

"I'm not sure if it's-" she begins but Bo cuts her off.

"I'm sure you need a holiday after such a long term," he urges. Leave it to my godfather to convince anyone to do anything, "I would really appreciate it if Korra has a guardian."

She looks at me again, hesitating before slowly nodding.

"I guess I could accompany Korra," she says slowly. My mind goes wild with celebration and excitement. I cannot believe this is happening. My English teacher, my gorgeous English teacher who I have been crushing on for the past two months just agreed to go to the beach with me. For two days. Just us.

"Excellent!" Bolin cheers and I smile victoriously, "now I'm afraid Korra and I must get going. Would you like my number so I can contact you and give you my house address and any other details you need?"

"Sure," she says, fishing her phone out her purse, opening it, and handing it to Bolin for him to put his phone number into.

“I think I’ll be needing your number too Korra, just in case,” she says, giving her phone to me once Bolin has finished typing his details in. Inside me, my heart skips. I’m giving my number to Asami.

I type my name and number into a new contact and hand her phone back to her. Her fingers brush mine as she takes her phone back, causing a shiver to run up my arm and down my spine. It’s insane how she affects me with one simple touch.

“Goodbye Korra, I’ll see you on Monday,” she says, giving me a small smile.

“Goodbye Miss Sato,” I smirk. I notice the slightest of flinches in her expression at the sound of me calling her by her last name. I frown as I turn and follow my godfather back into the exhibition. What was that reaction?


	12. Chapter 12

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 12  
\--  
Asami's POV

"You've been awfully quiet Asami, I've literally done all the talking," Opal states, and I stir my straw absentmindedly in my fresh juice squeeze.

"Sorry," I apologize. She's right, throughout brunch I have been very quiet and withdrawn.

"Do you have something on your mind?" She pushes, and I sigh.

"Speak to me," she commands when I still don't say anything. I try to figure out how exactly I'll tell her what it is that's on my mind.

"Well last night," I begin, "I bumped into one of my students."

"And?" She says, gesturing for me to continue.

"Well, I'm not sure how to say this…" I say, thinking really hard. How do I explain what I'm feeling? What am I feeling anyways?

"Was it awkward?" She asks, and I slowly shake my head.

"No, not that... and that's the thing," I say, frowning to myself, "I've always viewed my students as teenage girls who haven't quite matured yet, but this student I find very easy to talk to. Last night I found myself often forgetting that she is one of my students..."

"I'm confused," she says, frowning.

"Okay I'll tell you exactly what happened, but please let me finish," I say, and she nods in agreement, eager to find out what it is that's been keeping me so quiet.

"So last night I bumped into this student, her name is Korra by the way, and we started up a conversation. A man approached us and started hitting on us, and I sort of froze up because I wasn't sure what to do in the situation. Korra tried to shut him down but he was very persistent," I say, then pause. How on earth am I going to explain this next part? I continue,"Korra then implied that she was my girlfriend in order to get the man to leave."

"What?" She says, looking surprised.

"And it worked, he left us alone," I finish. Opal pauses and then smiles.

"Clever girl," she says laughing, then asks, "so is that what you're so stressed about? Did that make you feel awkward?"

"No not exactly, I haven't finished my whole story yet," I say, chuckling. She gestures for me to continue.

"Anyways. My mother showed up with my father, and guess who she brought along to set me up with?" I ask, and Opal's eyes widen.

"The man you and Korra just scared off?" She says, laughing at the irony.

"Yes," I say.

"Holy shit, what did you do?!?" She asks, suddenly very interested in the rest of the story.

"Well because the man already thought Korra and I were together and because I didn't feel like having my mother give me trouble I told Korra to follow my lead and she played the part of my girlfriend," I say and Opal laughs.

"Oh my god, Asami!" She laughs loudly, causing several people around us at neighboring tables to look over. I roll my eyes and sip my juice as I wait for her to finish laughing.

"So, you basically just introduced one of your students as your girlfriend to your parents?" She clarifies, wiping her eyes, "you just used a student as your beard?"

"I'm glad you find this amusing," I say sarcastically. "Oh gosh, Asami... and how did Korra take this?" She asks. "Very well, she played along... although she did make me explain everything to her later on," I say.

"So, this whole situation, how does it make you feel?" She asks.

"I'm not sure,” I say honestly. Why is it bothering me? That fact that it didn't bother me or make me feel awkward like it should have when she called me her girlfriend to get that man to leave us alone? I'd been surprised, but when she stepped back and said why she did it I was just impressed and amused. She thought quickly on her toes. I know that using her as my beard, as a fake girlfriend is unprofessional. I'd get in a lot of trouble if the school found out about it. I'd definitely get frowned upon.

Or maybe I'm bothered by how I caught myself feeling last night, or worse yet, what I caught myself thinking. Before Korra turned and I recognized her for who she was, I was thinking extremely inappropriate thoughts to be thinking about one’s student. Even afterwards when we were talking, I had to push the thoughts away.

No doubt about it, last night Korra looked beautiful. Untouchable. She looked nothing like a seventeen-year-old. She could have easily passed as a woman in her early twenties. Often, I had to stop myself from flirting with her, or from checking her out. Countless times I had to keep myself in check and stop unconsciously thinking 'my god she looks beautiful' or 'I wonder how her lips would taste...'. Those thoughts are the ones scaring me the most. I have never thought a student was attractive in that type of sense before. Never have I ever even considered a student sexually appealing or thought I'd ever find a student sexually attractive. I'd even found myself enjoying the feeling of my arm around Korra's waist.

I stayed up all night wondering what on earth had gotten into me in order to make me think those things. What changed? Just days before, all Korra was to me was a student. Sure, she did more mature things than the others that made her stand out, and I seem to spend more time with her then with my other students, but I'd never thought anything about it. But after all the thinking I'd done last night I have to admit that maybe I do care for Korra just a slight amount more than I do for the other girls. For instance, that pain in my chest that I get when I see her hurting, especially when she's crying over her lost family. I haven't felt that type of personal connection with a student before.

"Earth to Asami," Opal says, snapping her fingers in my face and pulling me out of my thoughts.

"I'm sorry," I say, shaking my head at myself.

"What's gotten into you?" She asks, sounding concerned.

"Korra’s godfather asked me to accompany Korra to Brighton for a few days," I say.

"What on earth? Why??" She asks, confused. "He's very busy and wants an adult with her," I answer.

"Doesn't she have any family members or something?" She questions.

"Her family died in a car crash last year," I say, sighing, "and to my knowledge, the rest of her family live in South Africa."

"Holy shit." Opal says, shocked. I nod.

"Her godfather is Bolin Earth by the way," I smirk, knowing she has a massive crush on him. Her eyes widen and her jaw drops.

"You're fucking with me," she says in disbelief. I shake my head.

"You have to go then! And then when he wants to repay you for helping him out SET HIM ON A DATE WITH ME!!" She squeals the last part, making me laugh.

"So, you don't think it would be weird? Me taking a student to the beach for a few days?" I ask.

"Not really, I mean you're only doing it as a favor, plus you need a holiday. And I'm assuming because it's Bolin fucking Earth that you'll get to stay in a penthouse and drive one of his sports cars!!" She says, excitedly. Maybe she's right, maybe it's not weird or strange. Opal then starts rambling on about how hot Bolin Earth is and I pretend to listen, although my thoughts are very much elsewhere.

Even if I do, as crazy as this seems to me, have feelings for Korra, it's not like I will ever act on them. For all I know, last night was a onetime thing, and those feelings and thoughts were fueled by the fact that she looked nothing like my student and everything like a woman I'd normally be very interested in. Maybe I'm over that surprise now. I'm a grown woman, I can control myself, and I know that it is absurd to think these types of things about a girl nine years younger than I am, and my student! I decide that all this worrying is for nothing, and I am just overreacting and overthinking it all. I'll confirm my decision in the next few days when I'm alone with Korra and prove to myself that I don't view her as anything more than my student.

***

"Hello?" I hear Korra’s voice on the other end of the line.

"Hello Korra," I say, smiling to myself as I sort through my wardrobe.

"Miss Sato?" She asks and I chuckle, rolling my eyes. I try to ignore the shiver that runs down my spine. Why does her calling me Miss Sato make me shiver all of a sudden? I noticed it last night too when she said goodbye...

"Asami," I remind her.

"Hello Asami, what can I do you for?" She asks, and I swear I can hear her grinning. She sounds like she's in a very good mood.

"I can't believe you roped me into this," I say, and I hear her laugh.

"Yes, I know, I'm a terrible person, forcing you on holiday," she says, sighing in a jokingly sarcastic way. I smile, fishing out the shirt I was looking for and chucking it behind me on my bed.

"I had a look at the place your Godfather has booked for us, is he aware of how expensive it is per night?" I ask her, and I hear her laugh.

"Asami do I really have to answer that," she says, still laughing, "plus he's trying to impress you."

"He doesn't give up easily does he?" I sigh, but I'm smiling, it's nice to hear that laugh. I curse at myself in my head, realizing what I just thought. Stop it Asami, stop thinking that. There's nothing different about her laugh! I lie to myself.

"Nope," she answers, and then asks a question of her own, "do you want to drive?"

"Of course," I say, chuckling, "I am the adult after all."

"Good, because I can't drive," she says, sighing in relief.

"You can't drive?" I question, moving to my underwear draw and counting the underwear I'll need to pack. There's a pause on the line.

"It's more like I don't want to drive," she says, lightly, however I immediately know why she doesn't want to. I decided that asking her about it might be something I want to do in person.

"Why didn't you invite one of your friends?" I ask, changing the topic, "you sure you want to be going to the beach with your English teacher? You are aware I won't be letting you get away with drinking."

She laughs, obviously remembering the night before when I took away her champagne. “All my friends are on holiday or have plans already," she says.

"Hmmm," I say, smiling to myself, "So tomorrow, I'll come over at 9 a.m.?"

"Yes," she confirms.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then Korra," I say. I actually feel a slight amount of excitement, which surprises me.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Asami," She says, and I detect the excitement in her voice too. I remove the phone from my ear and hang up. I chuck my phone onto my bed and take a deep breath, suddenly realizing I'm smiling. As much as I'd like to deny it, I'm looking forward to tomorrow a little more than I thought I'd be, and that confuses me.

***

"Good morning Miss Sato," The man who must be the Butler greets me as I get out my car. I look around the garage, which is filled with expensive-looking sports cars. How much money to you have to be earning to own this many cars???

"Good morning," I greet him back with a smile.

"May I take your bags?" He asks, gesturing to the boot of my car.

"Yes, thank you," I say, feeling slightly strange. I'm not used to this sort of treatment. I watch the butler open my boot and take out my bag, shutting the boot door afterwards.

"If you'll follow me," he says, and leads me to a lift on the other side of the garage. He presses his fingerprint on a scanning pad and the door opens, and we enter. Once the door closes, he presses his finger again on another scanning pad and the lift starts moving. I raise my eyebrows. Talk about security... and technology… how does one ever get used to living this type of lifestyle?

After a minute the lift comes to a stop and the door opens into a wide, luxurious open plan penthouse. I step out of the lift into the massive apartment and marvel as I look around. This place must cost a fortune...

"Korra will be out shortly. May I get you something to drink?" The butler asks me, setting down my bags to the side.

"I'm alright for now, thank you," I say, smiling at him politely. He nods his head once.

"Feel free to take a seat," he says, gesturing towards the couches that stand in a semi-circle around a massive, exquisite fireplace. He leaves me, disappearing off down a passageway to the left and I look around again. I walk over towards the open glass walls that give an incredible view of London and stare out in awe. I love views like this. At night this must be magical.

"It's pretty amazing," I hear Korra’s voice interrupt my thoughts, startling me. I turn and see her, smiling with her arms folded, watching me.

"I didn't even know apartments like this existed," I say, laughing and shaking my head as I look around.

"It is rather extreme..." she says grinning. I look back at her and look her up and down. She's wearing black jean summer shorts and a Guns and Roses tank top along with a pair of vans. Without meaning too my eyes scan her legs, which are just as defined, tanned, and smooth as I remember from Saturday night. However, she no longer looks like an elegant young lady who could pass as twenty-two. She does still look older than her age though.

"You look ready for the beach," I chuckle, and she smirks.

"I am so ready," and does a little excited dance. Cute... I think before I can stop myself. She gestures back towards the front door, "come on, let's go!"

"Have you had breakfast?" I ask, raising an eyebrow, giving her a motherly look. She rolls her eyes and groans.

"No," she admits with a sigh.

"Then get something to eat," I laugh, and she gives me a fake glare.

"Are you going to do this the whole time?" She asks skeptically as she makes her way to where I assume the kitchen is. I follow her.

"I'm looking after you. You invited me, you brought this upon yourself," I tease.

"Have you had breakfast?" She asks as we enter a very modern kitchen with another spectacular view.

"I'm an adult, I remember to have breakfast,” I respond as I walk over to the view.

"Do you want anything to drink then?" She asks over her shoulder as she opens the fridge.

"Tea, if you're making," I say, looking at her over my shoulder. My eyes involuntarily move to her legs again. She really does have nice legs... stop it!!

I turn sharply back to the window and close my eyes and take a deep breath. I can't think these things about my student. I feel slightly worried. I really convinced myself that these types of thoughts were only going to happen on Saturday night, and they only happened because she looked nothing like my student. So why am I unconsciously checking her out and thinking these thoughts about her? Do I actually find her attractive? I shake my head and open my eyes. No. I don't. I'm just acknowledging that she is attractive, and in no way does that mean I am attracted TO her. I'm simply acknowledging that she has nice legs. I brush off the thoughts and focus on reality.

"You sure you don't want coffee?" I hear Korra ask me.

"I don't like coffee," I say turning to look at her. At my words she looks up sharply, her mouth open and her eyes wide in shock.

"What?" She asks in disbelief.

"I don't like coffee," I repeat with a chuckle.

"Who doesn't like coffee?" She asks, confused. She gets back to slicing her fruit.

"I don't," I say, smiling to myself. She looks so cute... Stop. It. Asami.

I watch her finish making her fruit salad and coffee, and my tea. She hands me my tea and starts eating her fruit and I try desperately to not look at her lips. What is wrong with me?!

"So, what car do you want to take?" She questions, hopping up and sitting on the counter. I sip my tea and frown.

"What do you mean?" I ask, "I thought we were taking my car?"

"If you want to, we can," she grins, "but you could always choose from the wide selection of Jags, Mercs, Porsches, or Lamborghinis."

"Your godfather said I could use one of his cars??" I ask, shocked.

"Yeah, he told me to tell you to pick whatever you wish," she says, biting into another strawberry, watching my reaction with amusement. That playful look in her eyes is driving me insane... in a good way but also in a bad way... I should most definitely not be feeling the need to be flirtatious with a student.

"I'm too terrified of crashing one of his cars," I respond, laughing, chasing away the thoughts.

"Then at least pick his Jeep Wrangler," she says, finishing her fruit and moving onto her coffee, "I love that car."

"Alright," I give in, smiling. She studies me over her coffee, and a small part of me starts to feel nervous and shy, at the same time curious. What is she thinking as she studies me?

"I can't believe you're twenty-six," she states, taking another sip from her coffee and I smile and roll my eyes, sipping my tea.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" I inquire, interested in what her response might be. I do look young, thanks to my mother’s amazing genes, I have inherited very good skin.

"You don't look it," she states simply. She finishes her coffee and I finish my tea. I follow her back to the entrance and watch her as she unlocks a safe with yet another fingerprint scanner and fishes a pair of one of the many car keys off a hook. She turns and hands them to me.

"Why thank you," I say in a playful tone and I pretend not to see her blush. At least I think that's a blush.

"Ready to go? Shall I bring down your bags for you?" I hear the butler ask, and I turn my head to see him enter the room. In one hand, he's carrying my bag and in the other, he's carrying Korra's bag.

"Yes please, Aiwei," Korra says, and the three of us enter the lift and make our way down to the garage. I listen in amusement to Korra and Aiwei talk. She speaks to him as if he were a friend, and even though he does keep a professional voice I do see his eyes sparkle with a smile.

Five minutes later and I'm pulling out of the garage, our bags in the boot, and an excited Korra sitting next to me.

"Do you mind if I play music?" She asks as I pull into the busy road.

"Not at all," I say, smiling. I'm going to assume she has good taste in music. She fiddles with her phone and the car stereo until she connects with her Bluetooth. The first song that comes on is one I don't recognize, but almost immediately I feel myself enjoying it.

"Do you like it?" She asks, a hint of nervousness in her voice. I glance at her and give her a reassuring smile.

"I do," I say, turning my attention back on the road, "this is my type of music."

"Good," she says, relieved. I bite my lip and try to hide a smirk that I know I shouldn't be having. I can't help but find it cute that she wanted my approval of her music.

"Where are you from?" She asks as the next song plays.

"What do you mean?" I ask. "Well you don't have a strong British accent, and I'm wondering why that is," she clarifies.

"Ahhh," I say, nodding, "I was born in California, but we moved to Canada when I was four right after my sister was born. We lived there until I was supposed to start high school, and then we moved here. When I started high school a bunch of the other children used to tease me about my accent, so I changed the way I spoke until I developed a neutral accent, and that's just sort of stuck"

"Oh my god, you're Canadian?" She asks, surprised, and starts laughing. I roll my eyes but there's a smile on my lips.

"You see? This is why I changed my accent, I'd get this reaction," I say and she's still laughing. She covers her mouth with her hand and composes herself.

"Please, Asami please, talk in a Canadian accent," she says, very seriously. I look over at her and see that she's taking a lot of control to be serious. Kinda adorable. Wait no, not adorable. I look back at the road and hide my smile.

"No," I chuckle.

"Pleaseeeee," she begs.

"No,” I say laughing.

"Oh, come on I won't laugh!" She pushes.

"Yeah, I'm sure you won't laugh," I say in a Canadian accent, giving in. Immediately she bursts out laughing. I glance at her and feel my heart flutter at the sight of her laughing, also at the delightful sound that uncontrollably brings a smile to my face. I grit my teeth and look back at the road. Shit. I can't be feeling this way. I take a deep breath and chase the thoughts away. Just live in the moment Asami, stop overthinking things.

"Why do you find it so funny?" I ask.

"I'm just used to how your voice sounds, I never ever pictured you as Canadian," she says, calming down from her laughing fit

"What's wrong with Canadians?" I ask, grinning. I'm actually really enjoying this. Being with Korra in this casual setting. It does not at all feel weird or uncomfortable. Maybe this trip wasn't such a bad idea after all. Just as long as these weird feelings that keep coming up go away soon.

"Nothing’s wrong with Canadians, they're awesome," she says quickly, "I just didn't picture you as one."

I throw her a smirk, and I definitely this time register her pink flushed cheeks as a blush. I frown slightly to myself. Does this mean that she likes me? Or is attracted to me? Or maybe I'm just overthinking everything now…

The last time I was this unsure and confused about something was when I was a teenager...

***

Korra's POV

“You said both your siblings are married?" I ask. I can't stop staring at Asami. She's wearing sunglasses now that we're driving on the highway and the sun is glaring at us. The sunroof is open so there's constant wind causing her hair to blow gracefully. She's so god damn beautiful. And something about how she drives turns me on. She has even managed to make driving look attractive.

"Yes," she confirms. The next comes on, and I see her smile. She must like this song because she starts tapping her fingers on the staring wheel.

"Do either of them have kids?" I like that she's freely answering my questions. I wonder if any of her previous students know this much about her? I like getting to know her.

"Iroh does," she says, and that makes me smile. She's an aunt. She continues, "Little three-year-old Kuzon and 9-month-old Tom-Tom."

She's smiling, probably at the thought of them. That makes my heart melt. How cute...

"Where does Iroh live?" I ask, wondering if she gets to see her nephews often...

"Manchester," she says, "I make an effort to see them whenever we have holidays."

“And your sister?" I ask.

"No children yet," she chuckles, "she says she wants to be a few years into her marriage before she gets pregnant."

"When did she get married?" I continue to ask, enjoying listening to her talk.

"About seven months ago," she says.

"Are you close with your siblings?"

"I used to fight with Iroh when we were younger, but I get along with him now. And Mai and I have always been close," she says before asking me, "what's with all the questions?"

"I'm just curious," I say, grinning, and she throws me a sly glance but says nothing. The song changes. I grin and lean forward to turn the volume up. I sit back and start singing along, dancing as I do. Asami chuckles and looks at me briefly.

As I sing and I feel Asami glance at me a few more times. I smile. I like that she's looking at me. Suddenly, as the chorus starts, I look sharply at Asami, who starts singing too. She looks a lot different all of a sudden like she's happier, or younger. Not at all like my teacher.

I join in with her again, but I can't stop staring at her in amazement. She has such a good voice... I can't believe it...

"What?" She says laughing as the rest of the song goes on.

"I didn't know you could sing," I say in disbelief. She glances at me and laughs at my expression.

"Shit Asami," I start chuckling myself, "is there anything else you can do that I didn’t know?”

Is she blushing? I think as I see a shy smile I've never seen before hint at her lips and a tint of pink flushes her cheeks. No, she can't be blushing, why would she be blushing.

"Have you ever written a song of your own?" She asks after a pause.

"I have," I reply, "and I have several others I just haven't finished yet."

"Would you show them to me?" She asks hesitantly. My chest swells. She wants to hear my music!?

"Sure, if you'd like," I say grinning to myself, and then remember that she once wanted to, and still wants to be a writer. I wonder if she's ever written a story or at least started writing one that she just hasn't finished yet.

"You told me a little while ago that you wanted to be a writer," I say, admiring the beautiful curve of her jaw and neck as I talk, "have you ever written a story or book?"

She smiles lightly at the question.

"I've started many novels butt always lost inspiration or ran out of ideas," she says, and then smirks and answers the question I was just about to ask, "why? Would you like to read some of them?"

"Well if I'm going to be showing you my songs, I think it's a fair exchange," I say grinning and she smiles but doesn't say anything further. I take that as a yes, she will consider showing me her work

For the remaining hour of our drive, we took turns asking and answering questions. I asked her where she studied (University of London), where she went to school (Aang's College) and how she got a job at Kyoshi Academy's (principal Hou-Ting is her father’s older brother’s wife).

She asks me questions like what I want to do when I finish school (journalism or business), if I'd like to go to university and where (yes and anywhere, I don't mind) and she asks me to tell her about my family. I tell her about each member, Desna, Eska, my mother, and my father. I tell her about the weird quirky things we did, the inside jokes, and what their personalities were like. I feel so comfortable talking to her, and she listens, I mean genuinely listens as if she's interested. For the first time ever, I don't feel sad talking about them. In fact, I feel a calm, content feeling, like I'm finally letting go of something that's been weighing me down.

“They sound like they were amazing people,” she says softly after a long pause. I smile gently as I sit back, memories of my siblings' and parents' faces flashing through my mind.

“They were,” I say quietly. Suddenly I feel a hand lay on my exposed thigh, causing goosebumps and shivers to run up my leg. I look up at her and she glances at me and gives me a gentle, caring, understanding smile that says so much more than words ever could. Heat fills my chest and my heart swells, and I can’t stop looking at her even when she pulls her attention back to the road and her hand leaves my thigh.

Fuck. This is most definitely not just a crush. Most certainly isn’t just some feeling that will just go away.


	13. Chapter 13

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 13  
\--  
Asami's POV

We arrive at the hotel, which is right on the beachfront, and I park. I have to say that I enjoyed that car ride. It was somewhat beautiful listening to Korra talk about her family, how carefully she described each characteristic of each member. I like listening to her talk. I also like how she listens with such interest when I talk, and that she is careful when asking me questions as if she doesn't want to ask something too personal and make me feel uncomfortable. At the same time, I find myself wondering if I would answer a more personal question. I feel like I can trust her.

I smile to myself as we carry our bags into the lobby and make our way to the check-in counter, remembering how surprised she was when I sang and how she was astounded by my voice, complimenting me. For some reason her compliment had made me shy, a feeling I hadn't felt in years. A good type of shy. It still scares me, these feelings that I fear I might be developing. But at the same time, I can't and don't want to, change my mind about this trip and distance myself from Korra. Being with her is... interesting. I feel almost younger, as if I'm 21 again, going on a trip with a friend.

I stare at her as she speaks to the receptionist and checks us in. A connection? Is that what this is between us? It must be a connection. That same feeling when you befriend someone and the two of you just click. There's definitely something like that between Korra and I. Maybe I'm mistaking possible 'feelings' as just the sparks of a connection, of a friendship. And, maybe I'm making this mistake because she's my student and I didn't even think I'd become 'friends' with a student. It baffles me. I catch myself overthinking this whole situation again and stop myself, reminding myself that I should just go with the flow. Have a good time. Relax.

"Thank you so much, Miss," Korra says politely with a smile as she takes the two keycards that the receptionist has handed to her over the counter.

"You're very welcome Miss Waters, I hope you have a wonderful day," the young woman says with a smile herself, and we turn and head towards the elevators, taking our bags with us.

"We still have all afternoon, what would you like to do?" I ask the younger girl as we wait for an elevator. She tilts her head and ponders for a second.

"What was that tall structure that you go up in? That looked cool," she says, referring to the British Airways i360, a glass pod that goes up 162 meters and has a, as the name suggests, a 360 view over Brighton and the ocean.

"No," I say laughing, "I'm terrified of heights."

"Oh, come on," she says as we step into the elevator and she leans over and presses 7, "it looks awesome, and the view must be amazing."

"I'm good thank you," I say chuckling, shaking my head in a firm 'no way'.

"Miss Sato, you agreed to be my supervisor," she smirks, and the sound of my formal name sends a shiver down my spine. What is that?? I think in confusion, why does the sound of my formal name make me shiver all of a sudden?

"As my supervisor," she continues, "I deem it appropriate that you supervise me on this British Airways i360."

I observe her for a few minutes as she looks at me with a cocked eyebrow expectantly. I let out a laugh and shake my head in amusement, giving in. What the hell, why not.

"Fine," I say, and she does a little adorable victory dance. The elevator dings to a stop and the doors open. We exit and I follow her to one of the two rooms on this floor. She scans one of the access cards over the door handle and pushes the door open, and I follow her in. It's by far the largest, fanciest, and expensively furnished hotel rooms I've ever stayed in, and I raise my eyebrows as I look around.

"Which room would you like?" She asks, setting her bag down on one of the couches that faces a large 58-inch curved TV screen.

"I don't mind," I say, walking over to look at the view of the broad walk and beautiful blue ocean.

"You're the adult here, you pick," she says. I glance over my shoulder and my eyes linger on her as she stares at her phone, checking messages. Once again, my eyes scan over her, and I unconsciously gaze at her tanned, toned legs. I look away sharply, catching myself before thinking another inappropriate thought and make my way to the rooms. I pick the first one, which also happens to be the main bedroom, with an ensuite bathroom, not that the other bedroom is any less grand.

"You ready to go?" I say walking back into the lounge. Korra slides her phone into her back pocket and looks me up and down.

"It's like 28 degrees outside, it's also pretty damn sunny, you sure you wanna be wearing jeans?" She asks, grinning. I purse my lips and then sigh, returning to my room and fishing out white summer dress and sandals. I grab my purse and return to the lounge. Korra's eyes widen as she looks me up and down, and I don't fail to notice her tense up slightly.

"What?" I ask, tilting my head and raising an eyebrow. She blinks and looks back at my face and then smiles, red showing clearly in her cheeks.

"Nothing... I mean you look nice," she says and turns quickly and heads to the door, as if slightly embarrassed. I feel butterflies flutter lightly in my stomach at the compliment. I frown as I follow her though, wondering why she blushed and tensed up when she saw me... is this another clue telling me she likes me? Or does she just admire me, maybe she looks up to me...

"Wait let me grab my camera," I say quickly, and she turns, holding the door, a sly smile on her face.

"Do you do photography?" She asks.

"Occasionally," I call over my shoulder as I go back to my room and find my camera in my bag. I join her by the door, canon camera in hand, the strap already around my neck.

"You look like more of a tourist then I do," she teases, and I roll my eyes while smirking. We make our way back downstairs and out of the lobby. I grab her arm just as she's about to cross the road and she frowns at me.

"What? There are no cars," she says, confused. I chuckle. She's clearly still not used to the way things work in most of England.

"People cross over at proper designated crossings," I smirk, pointing at a nearby traffic light with the white stripes over the road.

"Oh god, you overprotective pommie," she mutters, and I laugh.

We cross over and make our way over to the towering structure that reaches up dauntingly into the sky, a massive round orb descending slowly. I gulp, and Korra sees and smiles. 

"You'll be fine, don't back out now on me," she grins as we make our way to the back of a queue.

"I can't believe you're going to make me do this," I say, shaking my head as I watch skeptically as the orb continues to descend. That really is high up...

"Do you like rollercoasters?" She asks, and I glance over at her to see her staring off towards the pier in the distance, where a small amusement park can be found hovering over the water.

"I'm not a big fan," I say, finding myself staring at her side profile... she has such perfect facial features. I look away before she catches me staring at her again.

"Well I'm making you supervise me on those tomorrow," she says, turning back to me, her eyes sparkling with a playful smile, her perfect white teeth showing through a pure smile. My stomach flips and I curse at my body internally for behaving this way towards Korra. What is wrong with me?!? I brush away my thoughts, reminding myself of the promise I made to myself to not overthink things. I must learn to ignore my reactions to Korra. They will either go away or present logical reasons as to why I'm suddenly feeling these things towards my student.

I let out a dramatic groan and Korra grins once more.

"Come on, live a little," she says, nudging me playfully. I look at her, and a smile forms on my face. I feel excitement bubble in me. Childish excitement, like I'm 20 again and living freely, like how I used to feel when going out every night with my friends. I haven't felt like this in years...

Twenty minutes later we've brought tickets and have entered the i360 and are already lifting steadily off the ground. Already I can feel fear and panic kicking in. I clutch onto the bar in front of me desperately, not liking the way the ground is getting further and further away.

"We're not even 20 meters off the ground," Korra laughs.

"And I'm already terrified," I say, closing my eyes. They shoot open again however when I feel a hand place itself over mine. I look up sharply at Korra, who has a small smile on her face. It’s not a teasing or amused smile, it's a more gentle smile, matching a gentle, caring look in her eyes that immediately makes me feel slightly calmer.

"Then don't focus on the height," she says softly, "focus on me."

Something about her smile and the deepening caring look in her eyes makes me forget that she's seventeen. Makes me completely forget she's my student, makes me forget all the people around us snapping photos and talking.

If she's said those words in any other situation, or if pretty much if anyone else had said them I don't think they would've had quite the effect they have on me now. Something in me tells me to listen to her, something in her hypnotic cerulean eyes tells me that it's okay.

So, I listen to her. I focus on her.

Her hands move to my camera, and my gaze follows them. Gently she takes it from me and turns it on and fiddles with some settings for a few seconds. Usually, that would've pissed me off, I don't like people fiddling with my camera without even asking me, I'm pretty sure every photographer does. But right now, I don't mind. 

I watch her lift the camera to her eye and aim it carefully at me. A soft smile spreads across my lips, and I hear the click as she takes a photo. She lowers the camera and smiles, and for what only could have been a few seconds but what felt like much longer, we hold eye contact.

Everything else fades away and all I see, and all I feel, is her.

The moments over before I could take my next breath.

She looks to her right, at the view. I follow her gaze and then all the panic and fear rush back into me and I gasp and shut my eyes, my hands clutching the rail again for some support.

"Hey! Hey," I hear Korra say and I feel a hand on my waist, which is what causes me to open my eyes. She's looking at me again, only this time the smile on her face is one of amusement. She scans me and her eyebrows raise, and she realizes I'm involuntarily shaking.

"You were fine just a second ago,” she laughs, removing her hand. I feel the absence of it more then I felt the presence of it.

"Here," she says, handing me my camera back, "take pictures of me, it'll distract you."

I smile. The fact that she's trying to distract me from my acrophobia is rather cute and I appreciate it. She turns and looks at the view, not necessarily posing, just acting how she normally would. I smirk to myself. She somehow knew that that's what I wanted and did it without me having to ask. I raise the camera and start clicking away. With each photo, I notice the corner of her lips starts to lift until a full smile has developed. She turns her head slightly, looking at me directly, the sun shining through her eyes and making them look like brilliant, bright balls of dark and light streaks of blue. I lower the camera and smile, knowing I got some really nice shots. She's just so photogenic.

I turn so I'm purposely facing away from the beautiful, yet terrifyingly high up view. We're still moving upwards, as impossible as that sounds. I stare at my camera and slowly click through the photos I just took of Korra. My heart involuntarily thumps harder with each photo. How is she so beautiful? How have I not noticed this before... I mean I acknowledged that she was attractive before but… my god…

I realize what I'm thinking and shut my eyes, biting my tongue to remind myself who these thoughts are about. Korra. Nine years my younger. My student.

"So how come you like the view from high up when it's in a building, but not now?" Korra asks, pulling me out of my thoughts. I look over at her to see her looking out at the view.

"I'm not sure," I say truthfully.

"What about airplanes?" She continues to ask.

"Hmm," I think, "sometimes. If it's storming outside, then I'm terrified."

"Any other fears?" She asks, and I turn to my side so that I'm looking at her but still not directly facing the view.

"Small spaces," I say, "I'm slightly claustrophobic."

She nods and turns her gaze from mine back towards the view.

"How about you?" I ask, "do you have any fears?"

Her jaw clenches, her posture stiffens, and I sense that I've hit a rather sensitive topic, which is not surprisingly one of many topics when it comes to Korra. You can't blame her, after losing her entire family and witnessing it, her life changed. Not only did she have to move to a new country, city, and school, she also had to adjust everything in her day to day life. It becomes obvious to me that after experiencing what she's experienced, her fear is probably something to do with her family, and I know well that she doesn't like talking about it, about how she feels. Not unless she's comfortable doing so, and I sense that right now is not the time.

I reach over and rest and hand gently over her arm, causing her to look at me. I give her a gentle smile, letting her know with my eyes that I understand.

"You're not shaking anymore," she suddenly says, smiling smugly. I raise my eyebrows and then I too realize that I have completely stopped feeling fear. I turn my head look at the view and I feel a smile spreading to my face. I'm not half as scared anymore. If anything, I feel a slight thrill to replace anxiety.

"I guess focusing on me helped," she smirks, and I glance at her, a sly smile playing on my lips.

Our conversation turns more light-hearted for the rest of the trip up and down, and I find myself focusing less on the butterflies she causes me when laughs, or the heart flutters I get when she pays me a causal compliment, or the pleasurable shivers a get when she accidentally brushes me. Instead, I find myself just focusing on our conversation and being with her. Of course, we remain professional, well as professional as you can be when you're on a holiday with your student. By professional I mean we don't act like complete long-life friends, let alone like how we would if we were more than friends, which in itself is a preposterous idea.

There's the occasionally flirty stare or smile from Korra’s side, which I find myself taking note of. And I also have become aware that she does indeed blush, stumble over her words or stiffen occasionally when I smile or lightly touch her casually. That confuses me. However, I don't let myself think about it too much.

Once we're on the ground again, we both agree that it's about time for lunch, and I tell her that when in Brighton one has to get classic fish and chips, which causes her to laugh but agree.

We find a nice restaurant on the beachfront halfway from the horrifically tall i360 and the pier. Throughout lunch our conversation somehow turns to travel, and where we've been around the world and where we'd like to go. Turns out we both prefer the sound of island and tropical holidays then snowy ones, and we're both dying to go to the Maldives and the Philippines. 

"What are you doing?" She asks towards the end of lunch when I'm pulling out my purse to pay. I frown at her.

"Paying," I say, and she rolls her eyes.

"No, you're not," she says, fishing out a credit card from the back of her phone case. I sigh.

"Your godfather has paid for everything else," I state, "I can pay for one meal."

Suddenly her eyes move to something behind my shoulder and become wide with surprise. I frown and turn to see what she's looking at but see nothing. Instead, I feel my purse get pulled out of my hand, and I turn around again quickly just to see a smirking Korra trapping my purse between her thighs.

"That was childish," I chuckle, but I'm amused. She pays and we leave, continuing our slow walk towards the pier. It's already 3:30, and I have to say I'm surprised at how quickly time is passing.

"What do your parents do?" Korra asks, and I notice music and laughter getting louder and louder. I scan in front of us for the source of the noise.

"My father is an engineer, and my mother used to do real estate, but she retired a few years ago," I reply. I finally find the source of the music, which is a group of teenagers, or maybe they're young adults, a few meters in front of us wearing colorful and rainbow clothing. There must be about ten to twelve of them, both boys and girls, with buckets of rainbow bracelets, necklaces and pins, busy singing and asking passing people if they could buy or donate money. Korra sees them too and I see her smile from the corner of my eye.

"Hello, you gorgeous specimen," says a very flamboyant and nicely toned boy with the most perfectly styled hair I've ever seen. Two of his friends, both of which are girls, notice us too from behind his shoulder. I notice one of them raise her eyebrows at me and smirks, her eyes glancing over me. She obviously likes what she sees. The other girl seems to be checking out Korra, and a tiny part of me, which I ignore, gets a little annoyed.

"Hello darling," Korra laughs, causing the flamboyant boy to smile.

"How would you like to buy one of our products to help support ILGLaw in raising money for Iranian queer refugees?" The flamboyant boy asks, gesturing to the colorful products.

"We'd love to," Korra laughs, fishing out her purse.

"Wonderful!" The boy claps excitedly, and behind him another boy with a rainbow painted across her bare chest joins his friend, smiling at us widely. The two girls who were checking Korra and me out also join.

"You two here on holiday?" The guy with the rainbow chest asks us.

"Yes," I smile at him, and Korra fishes through a bucket of bracelets that one of the girls holds out for her. I notice the girl smiling shyly at Korra, her cheeks pink I try not to notice the ball or jealousy burning up inside me. Why are you jealous Asami? She's your student! We've been through this! If anything, be happy! She's at least around Korra's age!

"Awwwww!" The first guy says, clasping his hands together, before gesturing between us, "are you here together?"

The girl who was checking me out glances between Korra and me, watching for an answer. Korra looks at me, a smirk on her face.

"Agh cuties!" The second guy exclaims before either of us can even deny it. I laugh and decide to go with it. I watch the expressions of the girls who were checking Korra and I out turn to disappointment.

"Omg, how long have you been together?" The first guy says as the first guy takes control of the exchange of money from Korra for two Bracelets.

"Umm," I stumble, rendered speechless.

"A few months," Korra cuts in, taking my arm and sliding a bracelet onto my wrist, winking at me with a sly smile.

"You are one beautiful couple, holy mother of fuck," a third girl says, joining our conversation, her eyes wide and her eyebrows raised as she scans Korra and I.

"Thank you," Korra laughs, mostly laughing at my still caught off guard expression.

"How old are you guys?" The girl who was checking out Korra asks, her eyes still hungrily scanning her.

"I'm nineteen," Korra says casually lying easily.

"And I'm twenty-two," I finally manage to speak, smiling now. Instead of finding this situation, the situation being my student pretending to be my girlfriend, awkward or weird I actually find it rather funny and amusing.

"Where did you meet?" The girl who was checking me out asks.

"College," Korra lies again, although this time she's not necessarily lying.

"That's so cute!" The flamboyant boy exclaims.

"Well I hope you guys raise more money, it's a great thing you're doing," I smile at them, and then turn to Korra. Korra takes the hint that I want to continue walking, and she says goodbye as I start walking.

"Are you mad?" Korra asks cautiously as she catches up to me a few moments later. I laugh and shake my head at her to reassure her that I'm not.

"No, why would I be?" I ask her, watching relief wash over her features.

"That... well..." she frowns as she struggles to word her thoughts. However, I figure that she's wondering if I dismissed us from our previous conversation with the rainbow strangers because I got uncomfortable or angry that she, and well I, allowed them to believe that we are dating. That's another thing I've discovered with Korra is that sometimes she doesn't have to say anything, I just know what she wants to say. And vice versa.

"That we yet again got pulled into a situation where we were pretending to be together?" I ask and she nods, grateful that I understood without her having to word anything.

"No, I'm not mad," I answer, "I am however curious as to why we keep finding ourselves IN that situation in the first place."

She chuckles and my heart flutters at the sound. "I'd like to know the answer to that too," she grins.

"Does it make you uncomfortable?" She asks hesitantly. I shake my head slowly.

"It does not," I say, pondering how I should word the next part of what I want to say, "although I am nervous that the school finds out about all this. If they somehow got the news that a teacher and a student are 'dating', even though we are not, it would take a lot of convincing for them to believe that we are in fact not dating, and have just been lying to get out of certain awkward situations. They would not be understanding at all I could get fired, and it could ruin my reputation and any chance of a future job. It could also ruin Kyoshi Academy's reputation."

She nods, a more serious expression on her face.

"I understand, and I'm sorry," she says, and I can see that she feels slightly guilty.

"Don't apologize," I say, smiling kindly and then adding, "besides, it takes two to tango."

She smiles, and I feel my heart skip a beat as she looks at me through her eyelashes.

"So, no more pretending we're dating?" She says after a pause.

"That would be best," I say, and she nods understandingly. By now we've reached the peer, and I watch her face light up with excitement. A small smile plays on my lips. As wrong as it is for me to think, she really is beautiful.

We walk along the pier towards the roller coasters and theme rides at the end, stopping to get ice cream along the way.

"Can you dance?" Korra asks, licking her soft serve. On the speakers, a familiar song plays, and I smile. Korra introduced me to this song earlier in the car.

"Why?" I chuckle, watching her as she starts to dance while walking next to me. I have to say she's not bad. Very good actually. If anything, she looks like she belongs in a music video right now, with her very summer outfit, magazine-ready body, and natural beauty.

"Yes or no question Miss Sato," she sings in tune with the music, moving so she's in front of me while dancing backwards so that she's facing me. Again, I feel I shiver run down my body at the mention of my formal name, and this time I definitely feel it ending in between my legs. Is... is it turning you on? Is her calling you by your last name turning you on?

"I haven't danced in ages," I reply, laughing at her and she falls back into step beside me as the song changes.

"Okay then, could you dance?" She rephrases.

"Yes," I chuckle, stopping her as I notice a bit of ice cream that she somehow managed to get on her cheek. Without even thinking about it I wipe it away with my thumb and clean my thumb off on the serviette around my ice cream cone. I notice her smirking.

"What?" I ask, frowning slightly. What did I do? Why is she smirking now?

"You just mothered me," she laughs, and I realize that she's right. I did just do the motherly act of removing food from someone else face. I give her a teasing glare before looking around. We've reached the end of the peer and are currently standing in the middle of several small yet still scary looking roller coasters and theme park attractions.

"This looks like fun," I hear Korra comment, and I glance at her and see her smiling as she takes in our surroundings. She turns her gaze back to mine and gives me a devilish look, the same one she gave me at the art exhibition just before suggesting that I accompany her here.

"No," I say shaking my head before she can even say anything. I know she's about to say that she's making me come with her on these rides tomorrow. However, I am smiling and forcing back laughter, and deep down I know I will give in.

"Oh yes," she says grinning. 

We light-heartedly argue for a few more minutes before I give in and agree, causing her to cheer in triumph. We then proceed to finish our ice creams and walk aimlessly between rides and games while talking. Our conversation is light and consists mostly of Korra telling me about the theme parks she's visited around the globe and somehow me telling her about funny car accidents and incidents I had with my friends in high school and college.

As we start walking back down the other side of the peer, Korra freezes. I stop and turn, looking at her curiously and she looks up at a speaker and listens intently.

"What?" I ask, chuckling at her strange, yet cute, behavior. Then I too recognize the song. 'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran. The cerulean eyed girl looks and me, a soft smile forming on her lips, causing my heart to beat faster. Then the devilish look appears in her eyes and she takes a step forward, extending an arm and an open hand as she does so. I realize what she's getting at and laugh. 

"You want to dance?" I chuckle, to which she smirks and nods, beckoning with her hand. I purse my lips. Oh, what the hell. I hesitantly extend my own arm and slide my hand into hers. Immediately she starts walking in a circle and I laugh, following her lead. My skin tingles at the sound of her god-like voice as she starts singing along with Ed.

"Darling just dive right in,

Follow my lead.

Well I found a girl.

Beautiful and sweet

I never knew you were the someone waiting for me."

She never fails to keep eye contact with me, and I find myself incapable of looking away, her eyes holding mine captive. Slowly things become a little less funny and my smile slides off my face, however I don't stop following her lead. Around us, the other people and objects fade away and all I can see and focus on is the girl in front of me.

"Because we were just kids when we fell in love, Not knowing what it was,

I will not give you up this time."

She suddenly pulls me in towards her and quickly spins me out before pulling me back in again, her other arm sliding around my waist, and I let her, completely lost in both her eyes and her voice. I've completely forgotten that she is my student and that I'm her teacher. Right now, all I'm living in is this moment.

"Darling just kiss me slow,

Your heart is all I own,

And in your eyes you're holding mine."

As she sings, I allow her to guide my hands and arms so that they are around her waist while her arms slide around my neck. Gently I follow her movements as she leads us to sway. The feeling of our bodies pressed together and how perfectly comfortable my arms feel around her waist is a feeling I find myself clinging to.

“Dancing in dark,

With you between my arms,

Barefoot on the grass,

Listening to our favorite song,

When you said you looked a mess,

I whispered underneath my breath,

But you heard it,

Darling you look perfect tonight..."

The last line almost breaks me, and if it weren't for the loud squeak of the flamboyant boy from earlier I most definitely and undeniably would have kissed her. Both of us look to my left and see four of the rainbow LGBT group from earlier watching us with hands over their hearts in a dearly 'awwwww' stance.

"You guys are so fucking cute!" The flamboyant boy squeals.

"You're like an old married couple! Dancing in public! I can't even deal!" The second guy exclaims. Suddenly it all hits me, and I step away from Korra, and she does the same. I just nearly kissed my student. Well not really, but if we hadn't been interrupted then I most probably would have. Also, I just danced, romantically, to a rather romantic song, with my student. What the fuck are you doing Asami?!?

Korra seems to realize that I'm rather at a loss for words because she puts on a smile and takes hold of the conversation. I don't pay attention to their conversation, instead I'm too busy mentally lecturing myself about what I just let happen, and what I nearly just let happen. What on earth has gotten into me?!? Even if Korra weren't my student and was a few years older, it would still be weird if I got butterflies for her, or if she made my heart flutter and skip a beat. That hasn't happened to me since college over six years ago. Even in the past few years when I've had relationships, I've been able to control myself, but when it comes to Korra I can’t help it. It's as if I have a physical pull towards her.

I've never been attracted to someone younger than me either. Not even by a year. I've always been into older men and women. And now Korra, nine years younger than me?! Nor have I ever been attracted to a student in this type of way before, so what's so different about Korra? What makes her so special? What is it about her that makes me lose all thought of reason?

Even before when I have gone on a few dates with a man or woman and it's reached the point where it's time to decide if it's worth starting a relationship I've always been able to force myself to decide if a relationship with that person is a practical thing. Even if I feel sexually attracted to them or if I like them but the circumstances aren't right, for example, the fact the I work in the country and they for instance live in London and travel a lot, I've been able to tell them that things won't work out and call quits.

One-time, Opal liked one of my dates and I had been able to convince her that I didn't like him, even though part of me was starting to like him and told him to rather go out with her. So why is it that I don't have this type of control when it comes to Korra? Why is it that I can't seem to force myself to lose all 'feelings' for her as I've done in the past?

I can't deny it or brush past it now I do have feelings for Korra. And it terrifies me.

Several minutes later, Korra and I are walking back towards our hotel. I was too lost in thought to even realize that we had left the conversation and started walking back.

“Are you okay?" I hear Korra ask. I look at her and quickly think of how I can answer that question. I also quickly scan her face and eyes, searching for any clue that she might know how I feel, or know why I've been silent and withdrawn since our dance was interrupted.

"I'm fine," I say, pulling myself together and giving her a reassuring smile, "remember what I said about possibly losing my career and ruining both mine and the school's reputation if rumors of a teacher and student socializing in a setting not at all professional came up?"

"Ohhh, so that's why you went all quiet and looked a little scared," she says, nodding as if she understands now. Although I hint and underlying tone in her words, could that be disappointed I hear? No. Why would she be disappointed? What would she be disappointed about?

"Mhmm," I nod. There's a slight pause, and it happens to be the first awkward pause between us, and I find myself hating it. Part of me wishes that I was back on the peer with Korra in my arms dancing to Ed Sheeran.

"You're good at dancing," she says, breaking the silence and throwing me a slightly cheeky smile. I feel relieved that the awkwardness is suddenly gone. I return the sly smile.

"You're good at leading," I say, and she grins. The conversation turns back to something lighter, and it's as if the dance never happened. I'm grateful that we managed to avoid awkwardness. As we talk about the difference between today's style and the style of the 80s, I found myself wondering if Korra does know how I feel. She must've seen it, or at least something, in my eyes while we danced. Did she know I was going to kiss her? If she does, why is she not asking me about it?

Then again, she's more mature and considerate than any other seventeen-year-old I've ever met. Even if she does know I know that she would realize that asking me and probing on such a topic would be uncomfortable for me, and I know that she respects me enough to not risk my career and life. She knows I could get sent to jail for feeling this way about a student. That is if she did somehow figure out how I feel. However, if she does know, if she has figured out that I have some kind of feelings that are deeper than just friendship (let alone teacher to student) feelings, the only reason she'd ask is if she returned these feelings.

Stop overthinking everything Asami, you don't even know if she does know! I scold myself and decide that I'll think about the events of today later tonight when I am alone and can process everything properly.

I give my full attention to Korra and converse with her up until and throughout dinner. The conversation still remains on topics that are not too personal, just more casual things. The type of things you tell or ask someone who you are becoming friends with.

That night I fall asleep a few hours after getting into bed, my mind buzzing with questions I have for myself, most of which I don't have the answers to. I fall asleep staring through my open door at Korra's, who’s door also stands ajar. Both of us decided, without vocalizing anything, that in case Korra has a nightmare it would be best if both our doors should be left open.

I smile. As much as I hate admitting that I have feelings for my student, I do enjoy that Korra and I have these secret understandings.


	14. Chapter 14

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 14  
\--  
Korra's POV

I check my phone and see that it's only 4:30 a.m. I sigh.

I had taken some really strong sleeping tablets rather early last night in the hopes that they would knock me out and I would have a nightmare-less sleep. I took them early because I didn't want to stay up late over thinking about the events of the day. However, my mind woke me up at this ungodly hour, deciding that 7 and a half hours of sleep is more than enough.

Now I'm lying awake, a few hours before sunrise, and before the day will start properly. I guess there's no avoiding the overthinking.

Another reason why I went to bed early last night is because I could see that Asami was obviously deep in thought about something and I wanted to give her some space. All afternoon, throughout dinner even, I noticed that she was a lot more quiet than usual, and often got distracted from our conversation. But what is it that's on her mind? I've been dying to know.

It could be possible that she's suddenly regretting coming on a vacation with a student, and I don't blame her. If someone from school or someone who knows Asami and the school saw us together, alone, and recognized Asami as my teacher, questions would be asked. And, as Asami pointed out to me yesterday, if news got back to Kyoshi Academy that a teacher and a student has gone together on holiday, Asami could get into a lot of trouble. She could even get fired. And to make things worse, we have pretended to be 'together' around three times now, and if that got back to Kyoshi Academy, then it would take a lot of convincing in order for Asami to not have her career ruined. If we couldn't prove that we aren't dating, then she could even go to jail. The school’s reputation would be put in jeopardy.

Maybe that's what's been bugging Asami, maybe she realized how serious this could be if taken in the wrong way. I sigh again.

So far, I've really been enjoying this vacation. I've learned a lot about Asami, even if it's just small things. It's different to see her dressed more casual and even acting more casual. From what I've picked up she's enjoying this too. She's already someone who smiles often, but I've never seen her smile as much as she has in the past twenty-four hours.

I really hope that she doesn't make a decision to end our trip short.

I smile shyly to myself as I suddenly remember our dance. I don't know what had gotten into me that had made me have the balls to ask Asami, my teacher, to dance with me. I'd been extremely happy, surprised but happy when she had given in.

My skin tingles at the memory of her arms around my waist.

She had looked at me very differently at that moment, not at all how she usually looked at me. It wasn't just the look in her eyes that changed, it was her whole posture, her whole expression. I couldn't put my finger on it then, and I can't put my finger on it now, all I know is that at the moment, something changed in her.

...Was it because she likes me? Maybe, just maybe, she has feelings for me too? There is evidence that could prove this theory right. The way she took photos of me in the i360, the way she looked at me when I told her to focus on me when she was scared, the way her cheeks tinted pink as she smiled when I took a photo of her... the way she looked at me in those moments was nothing like how she looked at me in class, or how any of my teachers or even friends looked at me.

Then again, I could just be assuming things. It could be my love-struck heart playing tricks on me. I could be making up this whole theory in my head and overthinking things because deep down I do wish that she would have feelings for me. But why would she? I'm nine years younger than her, she's well out of my league. She could get any man or any woman, regardless of how straight they are. Not only am I nearly a decade younger than her, I'm also her student. She probably sees me as a young, immature child, and I wouldn't blame her. If I were a twenty-six-year-old woman, I'd probably also view my seventeen-year-old student as young and immature.

Wishful thinking is a terrible thing.

I pull the blankets off me and get up, knowing that I won't be going back to sleep, I'm far too awake now. Carefully I make my way to the kitchen, making sure to not make any noise considering that Asami left her door ajar last night. I like that about us, that sometimes I don't have to say anything, she just knows. I know she left her door slightly open in case I had a nightmare and she needed to hear me and come help wake me up. Even she has to admit to the fact that we have some sort of connection, that we share some sort of relationship that is more than a normal Teacher-Student one.

I make myself a cup of coffee quietly and walk over to the window. It's still too dark to make out much, but I can still see the lit-up pier to the far left and the i360 towering halfway between this hotel and the pier. I sip my coffee and allow myself to get deep into thought again.

Back at the exhibition, which feels like weeks ago but was actually the other night, when I first bumped into my gorgeous English teacher, was the first time I noticed Asami looking at me differently. I swear I caught her checking me out more than once, although I could be overthinking that too.

What if she is straight? However, her parents were very familiar with the idea of Asami being with a girl, I mean there was no shock at my gender when she introduced me as her girlfriend.

"Someone's an early bird," I jump, very much startled by the smooth voice breaking the silence. I turn and see a sleepy, yet beautiful raven-haired woman hugging a white robe around her figure.

"Sorry," she says smiling, "didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay," I smile back, my heart racing just at the sight of her. Even in the dim morning light with no makeup on and her hair disheveled, she still looks like she was carved out of a diamond by Aphrodite herself.

"Did I wake you??" I ask anxiously, suddenly aware that it's only 5 a.m. and she should have no reason to be awake at such an hour.

"No no," she says quickly, reassuring me with another soft smile, "my roommate woke me up with a text not realizing what the time was."

"Roommate?" I ask curiously, suddenly realizing that I have no idea where she lives when she's not at school. It would be impractical if she had her own apartment, especially with rent being so high in London, and she wouldn't even use it for more than half the year...

"I share an apartment with my best friend when I'm not at school," she clarifies.

"Ahh," I say nodding, "why did she text you? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine..." she chuckles, "…man troubles."

I grin. It's funny to think that women in their twenties are still calling each other at ridiculous hours because of boy troubles.

"Man troubles?" I push, curious now. She laughs and nods, turning and heading towards the kitchen counter. I follow her and watch her switch the kettle on and open a cupboard to fetch a tea mug.

"Opal, that's her name by the way, often has man troubles," she says, fetching a teabag and putting it into her mug. She turns and leans against the counter, looking at me with those soft green eyes. Again, she hugs her robe around her body.

"What was it this time?" I ask, sipping my coffee.

"She got drunk and brought home a co-worker," Asami laughs, shaking her head at her friend.

"Ouch," I cringe on Opal's part, "that's got to suck."

"Hmm… and she's a surgeon, so is he. They often have to do surgical procedures together, "she continues, still tittering at her friend’s behavior. She turns and pours the now boiled water into her tea before making her way to the fridge and fetching the milk.

"Well, work is going to be awkward for them," I laugh, watching her pour milk into her tea. Everything she does is so flawless, so graceful. She makes something as simple as making tea look so attractive...

"That's what she's worried about," she says, stirring slowly. I feel so captivated by every single one of her movements.

"Although they're both adults," she continues, "they can be mature about this situation."

"True…" I agree, before blurting, "may I ask you something?"

She looks up at me from stirring her tea. She nods and raises the cup to her lips and takes a sip, waiting for me to ask. I suddenly regret asking. What I want to ask her is why she happens to be single, but it's crossing the line, isn’t it?

"…why are you single? I mean, most women who… well... look like you would take advantage of their... looks..." I feel my face heating. I'm trying to not sound like a creep, to not make her feel awkward by paying her such a direct compliment. I'm not even trying to compliment her; I just don't know how else to phrase the question. She surprises me by laughing softly.

"Firstly, thank you," she says, winking playfully, a sly smile playing on her lips and sending shivers down my spine. In a way that makes me feel slightly better, at least she doesn't feel awkward and she took what I said in a good way.

"Secondly," she says before hesitating, perhaps wondering if she should answer, "I have many reasons for being single. Mostly because I have no need to settle down and get married, it's not a priority of mine. Also, I suppose I just haven't found the right person."

I note how she says 'person' instead of 'man'. Does this prove my theory that she is indeed not straight? Stop jumping to conclusions. Also, what does it matter? It's not like you have a chance, I scold myself. She sips her tea and watches for my reaction, or possibly she is waiting for a response or another question. I feel relieved that she answered my question and didn't take offense to me asking something so personal.

"You told me a while ago that you were having girl troubles," she says before I can ask or say anything else, "you never did tell me who those problems were about..."

My heart starts racing and I suddenly feel a bit anxious. What do I say? 'Oh yeah those girl troubles are about my English teacher, oh wait yeah that's you!' I notice she's smirking slyly as if she knows I'm panicking. Does she know I'm panicking because the girl I'm having one-sided troubles about is her? No, if she knew she wouldn't be here, she wouldn't be asking me this question.

"It doesn't matter," I try to dismiss, averting my gaze and sipping my coffee.

"Nah uh," she laughs, making me look at her, "I think it's only fair! Tell me! Come on, whom am I going to tell?"

I smile now. She's cute when she's nosy.

"I mean it doesn't matter because I'm over it," I lie, and she sighs, but she buys the lie. I feel relieved.

"Well then, at least tell me who it was that you were having trouble with,” she says, not dropping the subject which makes me groan dramatically.

"Oh, come on! Just tell me!" She says, moving forward and poking my ribs playfully causing me to laugh and dodge out of her reach.

"It's no one you know," I lie again, and she sighs, disappointed.

"Do the other girls know?" She asks, walking over to a couch and sitting down. I follow her and take a seat on another couch, facing her. She pulls her legs up under her and sips her tea.

"Do the other girls know what?" I ask.

"That you're not classified as heterosexual," she specifies.

"They managed to get it out of me," I nod, remembering the day that my friends found out.

"And how did they take it? You're not getting teased or bullied, are you?" She asks, and I sense a light tone of defensiveness, which makes me smile to myself.

"No, I'm not getting teased or bullied," I chuckle, "I'd like to see someone try to bully me. And they took it very well, haven't really treated me differently."

"Good," she says before asking with a smile, "Has anyone else come out and said they have a crush on you?"

I know she's referring to On Ji, and I smile. She's not doing it in a condescending or mean way, I know that she, like me, thought On Ji’s crush on me was sweet.

"Kuvira’s been trying to get into my pants," I laugh, and Asami joins me, obviously knowing all too well that it’s something Kuvira would be trying to do.

"And you're not interested?" She asks, and I have to say that she's surprising me with these intimate questions.

"God no," I say, sipping my coffee, making her laugh.

"No one at a school full of eight hundred girls has caught your eye then?" She asks, watching me over the brim of her mug as she cups her tea with both hands to warm them. I pause, looking at her. I want to say 'yes, she's sitting right in front me', but that would ruin whatever 'friendship' this is that I’m having with Asami. Things between us would never be the same, and I'm enjoying every second I spend alone with her, even if we'll never be what I want us to be.

"I'm not sure," I say, deciding I've lied enough, it's better to just skim the truth. She watches me for a few seconds, and I swear something flashes across her eyes, the same sort of something I saw in her eyes yesterday when we danced.

"When you left Cape Town to move here, did you leave anyone behind?" She asks.

"Not really… after the accident I broke up with my girlfriend at the time. I became very distant with friends, and after a few months of non-stop calls, texts and attempts to come over, most of them started to give up. By the time I left I had no friends,” I say, sighing and staring into my now empty coffee cup. I don't regret distancing myself. I was in no place for a relationship so obviously I ended the one I had. All the friends I had would never have treated me the same as before, they all walked on eggshells around me and looked at me like I was some small, hurt lamb.

"How come you distanced yourself from your friends?" She asks carefully. I know she doesn't want to push me; she never does when it comes to the subject of my family and the accident. Without saying anything she's made it clear that if we speak about the accident then we do so on my terms, and I must be 100% comfortable.

"People kept telling me that it wasn't my fault, that it would get better, that my parents and my siblings loved me so much... and I didn't want to hear it. All I wanted was to be left alone so I could figure things out for myself so that I could learn to deal with it my way. I didn't want to be looked at with pity," I say, still staring absentmindedly into my empty coffee cup, "also I've never been good at opening up and talking to people about my emotions. All my friends just expected me to open up and tell them everything."

"You're comfortable with opening up to me," she says, and I look up to see her smiling softly. My heart flutters at the care that shows so deeply in her light green eyes.

"Yeah well you're different," I say, and her smile widens.

"How come you broke up with your girlfriend then?" She asks after a comfortable pause.

"After the accident, something in me changed, like I lost all feeling. I just didn't feel anything for her anymore, and I guess I just needed to be by myself," I say, leaning over to the coffee table and setting my empty mug down.

"Jesus," she mutters, and I look up, slightly confused.

"What?" I ask. She's shaking her head slowly, her mouth slightly open with bewildered eyes.

"You're only seventeen," she says, "and you've already been through so much..."

I smile sadly. "Yeah," I sigh.

She must notice that I've probably had enough of talking about this, so she changes the topic to animals by asking me if I used to have a dog. The sudden change of topic makes me laugh and I notice her smiling when I do. We talk until sunrise, and then watch it in comfortable silence before getting dressed and heading down to breakfast.

I stare at her as we walk towards the pier after breakfast, still completely shocked that she's twenty-six, especially now considering her outfit, which makes her look like she couldn't pass over twenty-two at the oldest. She's wearing white all-stars, short shorts that she somehow manages to make look classy, a blue and white flannel, and her sunglasses with her hair tight up in a messy ponytail. She looks like she belongs on the beach right now.

***

"Why am I doing this," Asami mutters beside me, her knuckles white from her hands gripping the safety bar too hard.

"Alright, please remain seated and keep your limbs inside the right throughout the duration of the ride," a bored-looking guy in his early twenties says, wearing the uniform of someone who works on the pier.

The ride jerks forward.

Asami lets out a squeal next to me, causing me to grin and look at her. She looks adorable as she peeks nervously from behind one hand that left the safety bar and found its way to cover her eyes as if that would somehow teleport her onto solid ground.

"I can't believe you're making me do this," she mutters, peaking through her hand covering her eyes.

"Live a little Miss Sato," I lean towards her and whisper in her ear. I swear she stiffens at my words, or maybe at my closeness. However, I have no time to process her reaction because the ride jerks forward again, and this time it remains at a constant speed, twisting and turning. Beside me, Asami screams and squeals while I laugh, finding it hilarious that a grown woman finds a ride more terrifying than a bunch of eight-year-olds.

The ride quickly comes to a stop, and I help the shaking raven-haired woman onto solid ground.

"That was fun," I chuckle, watching her as she catches her breath and gathers herself together.

"That was not fun, that was awful," she grumbles adorably.

"Oh, come on, tell me you didn't have some fun," I laugh. She looks me dead in the eye with a very serious expression that makes me laugh more.

"I didn't have any fun," she says, giving me a fake glare. A small smile plays on the corner of her lips as she watches me laugh.

"Okay, what's next," I ask when I'm done laughing. Her eyes widen. "What?! You want me to torture myself again?" She exclaims.

"Fine, we’ll go on something more your speed," I roll my eyes playfully, "and then resume the more fun rides."

For the next few hours, our conversation remains lighthearted and playful and mostly consists of me coaxing Asami onto rides and then laughing at her reactions. She seems to enjoy making me laugh because she doesn't mind.

From anyone else's perspective, it might look like we are either dating or flirting with each other, and if she weren't my teacher, I'd easily say that she is indeed flirting with me, even if she is doing it extremely subtly. Or at least she's letting me throw the occasional flirtatious comment. However, she is my teacher, and the idea that she would ever like me in that way is so ridiculous that I don't even bother pondering it.

Eventually, after about four hours of rides and theme park games, we both decide that we've tried everything on the pier and that maybe some relaxing on the beach is in order.

"Is that a photo booth?" I ask, spotting and pointing at what clearly must be a photo booth.

"Yes," Asami chuckles. Without thinking I grab her hand and pull her towards it and dart inside the black curtains, dragging her in after me.

"Really Korra," she laughs, adjusting herself next to me. I glance over at her and she has an amused smile and twinkle in her eyes.

"Yes really," I grin and then slide four one-pound coins into the paying slot. She sighs in defeat and surprises me by leaning forward and pushing the button for the machine to start taking photos. She turns to me and slides her arms around my neck, her one hand turning my head so I'm facing the camera. My eyes widen in surprises as I feel her teeth lightly bite my cheek and laugh at her unexpected yet playful actions.

Flash. The moment is captured.

I turn and see her smirking, a similar smile etched on my own lips. We're staring at each other when the second Flash comes.

She turns and looks at the camera, a light smile on her perfect lips. Without contemplating it, I lean forward and gently kiss her cheek. Flash.

I pull away and turn to look at the camera, smiling. Out of the corner of my eye, she turns and looks at me, obviously it's her turn to be surprised by my actions. Flash.

I turn and meet her gaze after that final flash, and we stare at each other for a few seconds. There's that look again in her eyes, that conflicted look that I can't quite pinpoint. The look is gone within moments and she smiles, pulling us both out our moment. She turns and gets up, exiting the photo booth, and I follow her after a second of pulling myself together. She has the craziest effects on me.

I step out to find her smiling down at our strip of photos. She looks up at me, making my heart flutter for what must be the millionth time today.

"You keep them," she says, handing them to me, "they're probably the best photo booth photos I've ever taken with someone."

My breath catches in my chest at her words. I take the photos from her and look at them. A smile spreads on my face. They really are nice photos... I notice that in the last one, the one that was taken after I kissed her on the cheek, Asami is staring at me with the softest look her eyes, a gentle smile on her lips. My heart leaps. Her expression says so much in that photo, yet I can't tell exactly what it is saying.

I examine all the other photos as we start walking back towards the shore along the pier. Suddenly I get an idea and tear the photo strip in half.

"What are you doing?" Asami asks curiously as she sees what I'm doing. I fish her phone out her back pocket without asking her and take off the cover. I slide in the first two photos, the one where she's biting my cheek and the one where we're looking at each other while smirking playfully, into her phone case and then put her phone back into its cover.

"So you'll never forget the time when I forced you to face your fears and made you go on a bunch of roller coasters," I grin as I hand back her phone. She smiles and shakes her head as she takes her phone back, sliding it into her back pocket again.

We continue back towards the hotel, stopping at a restaurant along the way for some lunch.

"White or blue?" I hear Asami call from her room.

"White or blue what?" I ask back as I fish my white bikini out of my bag.

"A white costume or a blue one?" She clarifies as I undress.

"Just go with white because I'm wearing blue," I say and there's silence while I pull on my bikini and grab a flannel to go over it while I'm not swimming. I grab some things like a towel, my phone, purse, and some sunblock and toss them in a beach bag. I tie up my hair in a loose bun and slide my sunglasses onto my head and make my way to the lounge area to wait for Asami. While I wait, I go onto my phone and reply to some texts from Yue, Jinora, Jin, and Song along with a text from Bolin asking me how things are going.

"Are you ready?" Asami’s smooth, angelic voice calls my attention up from my phone. The air in my chest is snatched right out as soon as I lay eyes on her. She's wearing her summer straw hat and her raven wavy hair looks effortlessly incredible. A slightly see-through scarf is tied around her waist, covering most of her one leg and almost completely exposing the other in a very beach-fashion kind of way. Her upper half is nearly completely exposed, a white bikini covering her breasts, full cleavage showing. Before I can even control myself, I realize that my eyes have been gazing at her boobs a little longer then they should've. Quickly I look up at her face, my face reddening with embarrassment. There's a playful twinkle in her eyes with a matching sly smirk tugging at her lips as if she knew I was checking her out, however she doesn't say anything.

"Y-yes I'm ready to go," I manage, remembering she asked me a question. I try desperately not to scan her gorgeous, mouthwatering legs or her stomach, which is defined in a gentle, sexy way. I stand as she quickly checks her beach bag and frowns.

"Let me just grab some sunscreen," she mutters, turning to head back to her room.

"No need, I have," I say, and she smiles.

"Then let’s go get some tanning done," she says, winking at me and sliding her sunglasses over her eyes as she walks past me. My eyes unintentionally dip down to stare at her ass as I follow her towards the door. Damn.

"Did you have a belly button piercing?" She asks while we're in the elevator on our way down to the lobby. I glance down and see the small scar above my belly button from where my piercing used to be. The only way she would've noticed the scar is if she was staring at my stomach…why was she staring at my stomach? Was she checking me out? I think to myself, stop with the wishful thinking Korra, why would she be checking you out? We've been through this.

"Yeah," I answer, looking up at her. I notice her eyes dart up to meet mine as if she had been staring at my cleavage. I continue, "I had to take it out for soccer."

She nods as the lift door opens and we exit. We make our way out of the hotel and across the road to the beach. I am well aware of the heads that turn to stare at Asami, and maybe even me, and I'm pretty sure Asami takes into account all the jaws that drop in her direction. Many angry girlfriends glare at their boyfriends who are too busy staring after the gorgeous raven-haired woman beside me.

We reach the beach, which, unlike the beaches that I'm used to in Cape Town, is a stone beach, so it is a little tricky walking to the sea line. There aren't any proper waves either, but the water still looks very inviting, especially considering its 32 degrees Celsius. I leave Asami to set out her towel and I slip my sandals off and make my way carefully across the rocks to the water’s edge. The water itself is very refreshing and I have no problem going deeper until I can fully emerge myself. After several minutes of swimming around, I decided that I've cooled myself down and I make my way back out of the water and start the tricky journey over pebbles and stones towards Asami, who is lying in her full bikini on her towel, sunglasses on, busy tanning. Her head turns as I reach her, and even though I can't see her eyes trough her shades I know she is watching me.

"How is the water?" She asks, pushing herself onto her elbows. I try my best not to scan her body, which is way better than what I ever imagined, as impossible as I thought that was. She really must be a goddess... she's too beautiful to be real…

"Refreshing," I say, fishing my towel out of my beach bag and laying it down next to her.

"Put sunblock on before you get comfortable," she smirks at me. I sigh dramatically as she hands me my sunblock which she clearly had retrieved from my bag and used while I was swimming.

"What does your tattoo mean?" She asks, and I look up from applying sunscreen to my arms to see her looking at the wave on my ankle.

"I got it a few months after the accident when I found out I'd be moving," I say as I squeeze more cream in my palm, "I love the waves of Cape Town, and I love the sea in general, how waves move from continent to continent, never grounded, to remind me that it's okay to move on, emotionally and physically."

"Beautiful," she mutters, causing me to look up at her. I can feel that she's watching me from behind her glasses. She smiles softly and I return the smile. I force myself to look away and concentrate back on applying sunblock so that I won't get distracted by Asami and end up staring at her like a creep.

"Would you get a tattoo? Or do you have a secret one that none of your students know about?" I ask, fishing my sunglasses out my bag and lying down.

"Look at me," she laughs, gesturing to her body. Believe me, I think to myself, I've looked, "do you see any tattoos?"

"You could have one on your boob or something," I grin, and she shakes her head and chuckles lightly.

"So, would you get one?" I ask, propping myself onto my side so I can look at her.

"I'm not sure," she says, pondering. I lie back down and get comfortable in order to get a nice tan.

"You have a six-pack?" Asami suddenly asks, and I turn my head to see her staring with raised eyebrows at my stomach. I laugh, at the same time feeling a hit of red flooding to my cheeks. Is she checking me out…?

"Um, I guess," I say nervously. Her cheeks turn slightly pinker than usual and she looks away, lying down too as if embarrassed about something? I'm not sure…

"Impressive," she says, raising a hand to lower her sunglasses so I can see her throw a playful wink at me, which of course makes my stomach flip. She pushes her sunglasses back onto her nose and her head tilts as she looks at something behind me.

I turn and see that she's looking at three young men, possibly in their early twenties, are checking us out, one even peering over his sunglasses in a rather creepy way. They realize we've noticed their obvious attempts at checking us out and they must assume that we're checking them out in return because they smirk and start talking amongst themselves while still staring at us. I turn back to Asami as see her sigh and shake her head in exhaustion.

"You must get this a lot," I grin. She sighs again and nods.

"Although," she says, "you're also the reason they are staring."

"Agh shit they're coming over," she mutters suddenly before I can respond. I turn my head and see that she is right, all three are sauntering over, smirking and snickering to each other. They're still a good way off so I turn and smirk at Asami, and she immediately recognizes the look I give her, and figures out what it is that I'm implying without me having to say anything. She purses her lips and thinks for a few seconds but then sighs, giving in. Inside I celebrate. I enjoy acting like Asami’s girlfriend. It means for a few minutes I can actually imagine and feel what it would be like to be with her, this woman I am falling head over heels for.

"Last time," she mutters, and I nod, showing her that I understand. Carefully, knowing that I'm about to tread in uncharted territories, even though it's just an act, I roll over and surprise Asami by swinging my leg over her and climbing on top of her, going into a straddling position. Underneath me I can feel that she's stiffened, and her eyebrows are raised, indicating that she most definitely is surprised, however, she doesn't say anything, and I'm not sure if that's because she can't find her words or she doesn't mind what I'm doing. I suddenly wish she wasn't wearing sunglasses so I could at least read her reactions.

She pushes herself onto her elbows, and I lean down towards her, arching my back at I do so. Her jaw clenched at my small grinding movement, and I wonder if it's because she's uncomfortable or if possible, it turned her on slightly. No of course not the latter option. I move a hand and remove her sunglasses, pushing them onto her head so that I can see her eyes, and she lets me do so. I'm suddenly very aware of how close we are, and of how dark her eyes look all of a sudden, searching mine curiously.

"Are they still coming?" I whisper, and she blinks as if snapping herself out of a daze. Her head turns to the left to look, and my eyes rest of the curve of her neck and jaw. I've wanted so badly to kiss her neck ever since I met her...and now being in this position and being so close to her I find it hard to resist.

"They've stopped," she whispers, her eyes remaining glued in the men's direction. Carefully I push her down so she's lying back down again, causing her to look at me sharply, caught off guard. I dip down and lower my head into the crook of her neck, making it look like I'm kissing her neck. Her hands find my thighs and I feel her nails dig into my skin lightly causing a shiver to run over my body and end between my legs, turning me on. She stiffens and her breathing stops as I lose control of myself for a second and my lips brush her skin ever so gently.

"Are they walking away now?" I whisper, reminding myself why I'm in this position with my English teacher in the first place, and using all my effort to not kiss her, as much as I want to, because I know it could ruin the friendship that we've built. She turns slightly and looks, and I notice how quickly she's breathing.

"Y-yes," she stutters, the first time I've ever heard her stutter. Why is she stuttering? Is she just thrown off course by my actions?

I force myself to sit up and roll off her, resuming my tanning position I was in before, however now my heart is racing and my skin is crawling, missing how it felt to have my nearly naked body pressed against hers. I look over at her and see her chest rising and falling a little harder than usual. I frown slightly. Why is she reacting like... this...?

She manages to recover or whatever it is a few seconds later and turns to me, a sly smile spreading across her lips.

"Was that necessary?" She asks, raising an eyebrow. She picks up her sunglasses and slides them onto her face again, and I immediately miss her gentle soft green eyes.

"Was what necessary?" I say, acting as if I have no idea what she's talking about. She looks at me for a few seconds before pushing her glasses down so I can see her eyes as she raises an eyebrow in a 'you know what' facial expression.

"It got them to walk away," I shrug smugly and lie back down, feeling happy that I didn't end up making things awkward between us, she doesn't seem too phased or angry about what I just did, how I just straddled her and kind of grinded on her, along with brushing my lips on her neck.

After a few seconds, Asami changes the topic back to tattoos and we don’t discuss what just happened for the rest of the day, however, I sense that both of us still have the image of me straddling her in our minds.


	15. Chapter 15

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 15  
\--  
Asami's POV

"Do you want to go out for dinner, or shall we cook?" I ask as we make our way back to the hotel, both of us rather satisfied with our time in the sun.

"Cooking sounds interesting," she smiles her sweet smile. For a second my gaze lingers on her lips. A few hours ago, those lips had grazed the skin on my neck. My skin tingles at just the thought. Feeling her straddle my waist and gently grind on me had made me lose focus. I completely forget that she is my student. It had driven me insane to feel her so close to me. I had been so close to losing control of myself, and it scares me.

I don't think I have ever felt this way before, or at least I certainly haven't felt this way in a long time.

The entire afternoon I've tried my best to not make in obvious that I’ve uncontrollably been checking out her legs, or her stomach, or the curve of her cleavage. I've been trying even harder to get the dirty thoughts out my head or to even stop myself from looking at her in that way, but something about Korra makes it impossible for me to control my thoughts. I'm even finding it harder and harder to not flirt with her, and when she had been on top of me at the beach it had taken every ounce of self-control to not kiss her.

I've never been this out of control of myself, I've never found myself this attracted, physically, sexually, mentally and emotionally to anyone, let alone to a girl so much younger than me and someone I've barely known for three months, and two of those months were spent at school, of all places. That's right, this is my student that I'm having these feelings for, a student that I'm having these urges and thoughts about. What on earth has gotten into me?!?!? Is this a midlife crisis? Can you even have those at twenty-six?

Whatever this is, I hope it passes. I need to start seeing that Korra can be nothing more than a student.

"I think I saw a Japanese grocery shop a few blocks up, want to walk there now to get ingredients? She asks me, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Japanese?" I frown.

"Yeah I want to make sushi," she says, and I frown more.

"You can make sushi?" I ask, surprised.

"Yeah," she says, grinning.

"I don't mind cooking for us, I am supposed to be the one looking after YOU," I chuckle.

"No, I want to make sushi," she says determinedly.

"Alright," I give in, smiling at her adorably determined face. She smiles widely, clearly happy that she won.

For some reason my thoughts travel back to this morning, on the peer at the Fun fare, and how blissfully breathtaking it had been to see Korra's pure smile and hear her laugh at me every time we got off a roller coaster. The spot on my cheek where she kissed me in the photobooth tingles, and I'm reminded by the two photos that now sit in my phone case. This morning feels so long ago, and I guess that's because I can remember every minute I've spent with Korra. Every smile, laugh, glance, and word. I know it's wrong, but I can't help but treasure my time being with her. It’s been a long time since I've felt this alive, this young and carefree, and Korra makes me feel this way.

"Have you ever been in love?" Korra's question catches me off guard, not only because I'm deep in thought but also because of the contents of the question.

"What?" I say, looking at her sharply. I see she's staring across the road, smiling softly. I follow her gaze and see she's staring at a couple. Two women in their late thirties or forties, holding hands and walking their dog. The one leans over and kisses, what must be her wife's, cheek, causing the other woman to smile and look at her lover gently. I smile.

"I asked if you've ever been in love?" Korra asks again, looking at me now. Her eyes look hesitant as if she's nervous to ask. My mind races as I try to think of the appropriate thing to say in this situation. I come to the conclusion that given everything that's happened, there really is no need for an appropriate answer.

"Yes, I have," I say after a pause, watching her response. She simply nods, as if she expected that answer.

"Have you?" I ask, mostly just for the sake of an interesting conversation, but also because part of me is curious about the answer. Korra isn't the easiest of books to read.

"I don't think so," she says, frowning to herself. I laugh, causing her to look at me, a small smile forming on her lips.

"Hey, why are you laughing?" She fake glares at me.

"Oh honey," I chuckle while shaking my head, "if you had been in love you'd know."

"Well, what does it feel like?" She inquires as we come to a stop at a traffic light and wait for our turn to cross.

"What does it feel like to be in love?" I clarify, thinking of a way to answer such a question. She nods.

"Exciting," I start as we start to cross the road, "exhilarating. It occupies your thoughts and daydreams. It controls your heart and breathing. It makes you feel more alive than anything. And yet, around the person, you feel safe. You feel like you can trust them with your soul like you can shed away everything and let them see everything that you are. When you go about with every day to day tasks you find yourself wishing they were there with you. When something happens, they are the first person you wish to tell. When you see them, you know deep down that there isn't a thing you wouldn't do for them."

Korra watches me as I talk, and I notice something move within her eyes, and a softer, gentler look crosses them as if she can somehow relate and understand with what I'm saying. She smiles.

"Spoken like a true literature teacher," she bumps me with her shoulder playfully. I chuckle and roll my eyes back at her.

"So, who was it?" She asks after a brief pause. "Who was what?" I ask, glancing at her curiously.

"The person that made you feel those things," she says, kicking a stone on the pavement

"Well," I say, deciding that I do feel comfortable to talk to her honestly, "my first love was when I was seventeen. His name was Jet. I quickly learned that boys that age are mostly concerned with other intentions then deep and meaningful relationships."

"Was that the only time you've fallen in love?" She asks, looking at me with those deep blue eyes of hers.

"My second love was in second-year university," I say, hesitantly, "with a girl in the year above me."

Korra's reaction is nearly priceless. At first, her eyebrows raise, and then she smirks. I roll my eyes at her, but I can't help but smile.

"Why do you look so smug," I scold her.

"I knew it," she grins smugly, wiggling her eyebrows at me playfully.

"Knew what?" I chuckle, shaking my head at her lightly in amusement. However, she doesn't answer and instead gestures for me to go on with my story.

"Go on, I want to hear about your second love," she says, and I can't help but notice how happy she looks now. Why does she look so happy…?

"Well," I say, continuing my story of quite possibly my most horrible heartbreak, "her name was Ning. We had a wonderful relationship that lasted a year and a half. Then she graduated, and without a word to me, packed her things and moved to Florida. I was rather heartbroken, confused, and then angry. I spent most of my final year getting over her."

"Holy shit," Korra's shocked voice causes me to look at her and her wide eyes.

"What a bitch," she snorts, scowling angrily and making me laugh, "how did you find out where she'd gone?"

"Well, eventually I got it out of one of her friends and got her new phone number. After many calls, messages, and emails she eventually called me and told me she was sorry, that she didn't want to tell me in person because it was too hard for her. I hung up and we've never spoken since," I say, sighing. Losing Ning had hurt for a long time.

"I'm sorry," Korra says, surprising me by touching my arm. I look at her and see the hurt the genuine care that makes my heart beat a little fast and my chest feels warm and fuzzy.

"It's alright," I say, giving her a reassuring smile, "it was a few years ago, I am no longer bothered by it."

By now we've reached the Japanese grocery shop and we enter. She seems to know exactly what it is that she needs and in no time were at the counter and she's paying.

"Where did you learn to make sushi?" I ask later, sitting on the counter and watching her as she dips her hands in water and balls some rice between her palms.

"I had a Japanese friend when I was younger whose mother taught me how to do it," she says, flattening out the rise on a piece of seaweed, "when I got older I took some courses at a culinary school because I really enjoyed it."

"You have a lot of talents, Miss Waters," I say, raising an eyebrow as I watch her delicately place salmon that I had watched her slice perfectly a few minutes earlier onto the rice in a line. I notice the blush appear on her cheeks. I really am starting to wonder why it is she blushes so easily around me. 

I watch her slice, roll, and dice, making perfect sushi in all forms. My eyes follow every movement she makes, and I feel myself starting to get giddy and fuzzing and how attractive she looks doing the most common of things. Every movement she makes is beautiful and I can't help but wonder how I didn't recognize it earlier, how I didn't realize how elegant, graceful, sexy, and beautiful she is. Maybe I'm only starting to see these things because I'm falling for her.

My stomach lurches and my heart drops at the realization.

I'm falling for her. 

These are real feelings.

I'm not just going through some phase. This isn't a midlife crisis or a friendship I'm confusing for something more. I like her. I really like her. I care about her in a much more different way then I care for my other students, and I can't see her as a student. She's so much more, she's so different to any student I've ever had. She's understanding, I feel comfortable around her, I feel safe. I feel like I'm living around her.

"I'm almost done," she says, snapping me out of my thoughts and pulling me back to earth. She looks at me and frowns slightly.

"You okay?" She asks concerned. I pull myself together and give her a smile and nod.

"I'm perfectly fine," I say, hopping off the kitchen counter and fetching two plates and glasses, along with the chopsticks we bought earlier.

I set them down on the island counter and fetch my wine bottle I brought earlier on our way back to the hotel while she brings her neatly laid out sushi platter, I pour the wine into the two glasses without thinking twice.

"This looks professional," I comment as we take seats opposite each other.

"Thank you," she says, and I glance at her face to see she's giving me a sly smile which causes me to frown. What is she looking so sly about? I study her as she picks up the wine glasses, raising it to her lips while keeping eye contact with me. Then it clicks. She's under eighteen and I just poured her a glass of wine. My eyes shoot open and I jump off my chair and dart around the table. She laughs and does the same, moving more slowly than me as she tries not to spill her wine.

"Korra!" I exclaim while laughing, "give me the alcohol!"

"You served it to me!" She laughs back as I chase her around the island table. I catch her and corner her so that her back is pressed against the counter and both my hands are planted firmly either side of her. I'm well aware of how close we are, and how she smells of shea butter and light vanilla.

"I wasn't thinking," I sigh, a smile on my lips.

"Oh, come on Miss Sato, it's just one glass, I won't tell anyone," she laughs. The sound of my professional name on her lips sending a deep, guttural shiver through my body and her laugh makes my heart flutter.

"Give it here," I chuckle, reaching for the glass in her hand. She tries to dart away, forcing me to return my hand to the counter and trap her again.

"And what if I don't?" She asks, and I'm caught off guard by the question. There's an underlying, challenging tone in her words, almost flirtatious. Her hypnotic cerulean eyes search mine, and I manage to gain control of myself, and even so, it takes every ounce of self-control to stop myself from saying something inappropriate and pushing my hips into hers and kissing those desirable lips.

"Fine, one glass, no more," I sigh, giving in to the lesser of two evils going through my mind. I step away from her before I lose control of myself. What on earth is going on Asami... you've never had this much trouble controlling yourself... you've never been this attracted and had this level of sexual pull towards someone before...

"Yassss," she says triumphantly, and I watch her do a playful, cocky walk back to her seat. I can't help but glance at her ass, which looks irresistible. I tear my eyes away and return to my seat.

"I only developed a taste for wine when I was in my twenties, what kind of teenager are you?" I ask teasingly as we pluck pieces of sushi off the platter and start eating, not even using our plates, rather just sharing, and somehow, I prefer that.

"Cape Town is known for its wine," she smiles to herself, "well at least Stellenbosch is, but close enough. I'm not a fan of red wine, but I don't mind it because I'm used to the taste."

"Ahh," I nod, then chuckle and ask, "I'm guessing you're still able to down tequila and vodka without gagging?"

She laughs and nods, a mouthful of food preventing her from giving a verbal answer.

"After college, you'll develop a gag reflex to such beverages," I smirk as I remember my own college days.

"I'm guessing you have this gag reflex?" She asks me, smiling, her eyes twinkling. The way she looks at me like she's one hundred percent interested in my every word and answer. Even in past relationships, it's been a long time since I had someone give me such pure, undivided attention.

"I do have this gag reflex," I admit, and she laughs.

"I have a question," she asks as I sip my wine after swallowing. I have to admit that this is most definitely the best sushi I have ever tasted. I nod at her to continue.

"How many relationships have you had since Ning?" She asks.

"You seem very interested in my love life," I smirk at her. She rolls her eyes at me playfully.

"I'm curious, what can I say," she shrugs simply.

"I've been on quite a few dates," I say after a small pause, "and I've had about four relationships in the past five years? None lasted more than a few months."

"How come they didn't last? She asks, sipping her own wine. Sitting across from her while we eat a rather fancy looking meal and seeing her drink wine makes her look like a sophisticated, young, beautiful woman of about twenty-two. I can't necessarily be mad or surprised at myself for developing feelings for this young woman.

"Various reasons," I say as we eat "one wanted to see me more, which was hard to do because of where I work. The other was too paranoid that I was cheating, he was always asking me where I was or who I was with. The third asked me to marry him after five months-"

She bursts out laughing and I feel a soft smile spreading across my lips and a warm feeling in my chest as I watch her laugh. She looks so beautiful when she laughs...

"He proposed?" She manages to ask through her laughing. "Mhmm," I sip my wine.

"I mean I don't blame him," she chuckles, causing my heart to skip a beat. She seems to realize what she said and how it could have come across because she blushes furiously, which is rather adorable and adds, "you're b-beautiful, but only after five months?"

"Yes, only after five months," I chuckle myself. I've been called beautiful by many people, but hearing it from her... is somehow different.

“And why didn't the last relationship work out?" She asks.

"A mutual friend hooked us up. Everything was going smoothly until that mutual friend admitted to me after five months into the relationship that the girl she had set me up with had been cheating on me for the past month, and when I went to confront her about it, she was in bed with another woman,"

I say, chuckling to myself as I remember the incident. I had liked her, I thought we could possibly have something good, but I wasn't in love with her. Nor was I close to being in love with her, which was why it hadn't hurt. It had made me angry, but it hadn't hurt.

"What the fuck?" Korra exclaims, and I realize she looks rather angry, almost as if she's protective. My heart flutters at that, and I nearly laugh at myself as I realize these feelings are the same feelings I got as a teenager when I had a crush on someone. I've become a teenager again.

"Language young lady," I scold teasingly.

"Excuse my potty mouth," she says sarcastically, winking at me playfully before scowling and adding, "but really, what the fuck? Why? I don't get cheating. Makes me mad."

"Have you been cheated on?" I ask, realizing that it almost sounds like she's speaking from experience. I also think it's time the conversation turned so that she is in the spotlight. I am also curious to learn more about Korra, especially about relationships because I don't know much on that front when it comes to her.

I watch her purse her lips and hesitate, and I know it's because she finds it hard to talk about herself on a personal level. I wait patiently and take the opportunity to eat some more.

"Yeah I have," she says, and I gesture for her to elaborate.

"I only have two real exes," she continues, "my first boyfriend was when I was fifteen. He was older by two years, so you can guess what he wanted. I said no, and he said he'd wait. He waited a month and then some girl came to me and apologized because apparently, she had given him head before she remembers that he and I were dating. I broke up with him straight away."

"When did you realize that you were, well, into girls?" I ask, happy that she's willing to talk about herself.

"I developed a crush on a girl when I was eleven. I only realized it was a crush later, and I told a friend who ended up being creeped out and told everyone," she laughs as she remembers. I wait for her to continue, "the girl acted all grossed out. Eventually, everyone forgot about it but fast forward a few years and I ended up in her bed."

I laugh at that last part.

"How did that happen?" I chuckle, rather interested now.

"Went to a party and she was there. She didn't recognize me because apparently, I went through this thing called a 'glow up', and when she found out who I was she was really surprised and shocked. She apologized for acting all immature when we were younger when she found out I had a crush on her. She then told me that thinking back on it she actually takes in as a compliment, and it sometimes still made her wonder about her own sexuality. One thing led to another," she finishes, chuckling. By now I've had enough sushi and I'm just slowly sipping my wine while I listen to her talk.

"How did you and your roommate-slash-best friend meet?" She asks.

"College, on opening day she was having a screaming fit with her boyfriend at the time and everyone just watched in mild horror," I say, laughing to myself slightly at the memory, "afterwards she ran off crying and I felt bad and chased after her and made sure she was alright. And so started our friendship."

"So, you two have been friends for a while then?" She asks and a nod.

"Six years," I smile as I think of my best friend. I notice her frown to herself, and I chuckle as I realize she's trying to do the math of how old I was when I started and graduated high school.

"I finished school when I was seventeen and took a gap year and worked in Thailand, teaching English. I realized how much I loved teaching," I start to explain to her, and I notice how she listens with such interest, "I started university when I was nineteen, finished when I was twenty-three. Soon after, I got offered a job at Kyoshi Academy and accepted."

"Makes sense now," she nods while getting up and returning the dishes to the sink I help her clean up and we move to the couch to finish our wine. I've decided that I won't be having more than one glass, I fear I don't trust myself with more alcohol in my system. I don't even trust myself around Korra when I’m sober.

"Considering you asked me this question," she smirks as we sit down, "when did you first realize you were into girls?"

"Oh my," I laugh. I really find it hard to believe that I'm having this conversation with my student, "when I was around fifteen, I first got introduced to the word 'experimenting.' My parents were both hippies and very open-minded people who had both 'experimented' before they married and had children, so we had been brought up quite accustom to the fact that it's okay for a man and a man or a woman and a woman to marry. When I was sixteen, I had a friend who told me she wanted to 'experiment', and so we did. I quickly discovered that being with another woman was very enjoyable, and something I definitely wanted to do again."

"And when was your first relationship with a woman?" She asks.

"That was with Ning," I say, and she nods. Our conversation turns to other things and before either of us know it, a few hours have gone by. It's incredibly easy to talk to her, and there's almost no effort to keep the conversation going. Listening to her talk is interesting, no matter what it is that she's speaking about. And I find myself enjoying talking to her, I feel completely comfortable sharing things I normally wouldn't share with my students. I notice that she starts yawning, which like pretty much everything else she does, is adorable so I send her off to bed, and she obliges without much resistance.

"Asami?" She says sleepily, standing at her door.

"Yes?" I reply, turning to look at her, hesitating at the entrance to my own room. She walks a few feet towards me, closing the gap, and surprises me by hugging me, sliding her arms around my neck. Without thinking much about it I hug her back, slipping my arms around her waist. For a few seconds, I allow myself to enjoy feeling her close, feeling her body that feels so perfect against mine.

"Thank you," she whispers into my hair, and I feel an understanding cross from her to me as we pull away and I took into her eyes. I give her a soft smile, which she returns before stepping away and returning to her bedroom, leaving her door ajar before disappearing.

I enter my room and change into my pajamas, wash my face, and brush my teeth before slipping into bed and falling asleep rather quickly. It's been a long day.

***

It's almost as if something pulls me awake or tells me to wake up because I doubt that the soft groaning and painful cries coming from Korra's room would have woken me by itself.

Automatically I'm up and out of bed, hastily leaving my room and sweeping into Korra’s room. As I feared, Korra is thrashing and groaning, her covers twisted tightly around her.

I carefully climb onto her bed and position myself next to her. Without waking her, and with great difficulty due to her restless state, I turn her onto her side so that she is facing the other way. I slide my arm around her and push my body against her back, holding her still while I spoon her.

I can feel her shaking and her body twitching as it tries to continue thrashing in her nightmare driven state. The sheets covering her are damp with cold sweat, and I can feel the dampness through my own pajamas, but I don't mind. All I want is for her to stop having these nightmares and to stop reliving her family's death.

Slowly she stops her attempts at twisting, turning, and thrashing, and after the course of several minutes she stops shaking and I sense she's waking up. Her head moves as she looks down at my arm wrapped tightly around her, which I loosen, allowing her to twist around and face me. In the pale moonlight, I can see her face is streaked with tears and my heart breaks slightly. Without a word she moves forward and buries her face in the crook of my neck and slides her arms around my waist, holding onto me tightly, like she's holding on for life. I too slide my arms around her and hold her close, letting her know with my body language that she's safe and that I won't let her go.

We lie like this for a while, without saying anything, and eventually, I feel her breathing slow and her tight grip relax around me. I can't help but smile to myself and it feels like my heart is melting. She just fell asleep in my arms, and it is absolutely one of the best feelings in the world.

Carefully I quietly begin to unravel myself from her, trying not to wake her up but failing. I should have waited longer for her to fall into a deeper sleep. She looks up at me, her eyes showing fear, showing me a small, scared girl that I've only seen once in her, and my heart breaks again.

"Please don't go," she whispers softly, and I hesitate, the logically part of me yelling at me that even just sleeping in the same bed as her is a terrible, illegal idea. However, I know that she needs me right now, and that's more than enough reason for me to stay. So I nod and lie back down, allowing her to nuzzle into my neck again and enjoying the feeling of her arms slipping around my waist I adjust my arms so that I'm holding her again and I quickly feel her falling asleep, and it doesn't take long for me to join her.

***

Korra's POV

When I wake, I'm immediately confused. I can feel a body next to me, and when I say next to me, I mean my arms are wrapped around this person, and her arms are wrapped around me. It's definitely a female, I can feel by the delicate curve of her waist.

My face is nestled in the curve of her neck, and when I open my eyes and blink, I hear a soft giggle and the person holding stiffens. My eyelashes obviously tickled her neck. I move my head so I can see the face of this person, although now that I'm more awake I have started to remember the events of last night. I remember having a nightmare, I remember waking up to feel Asami holding me. I remember clinging to her and her arms wrapping around me, making me feel more at home then I have in nearly a year. I also remember asking her to stay and then falling asleep in her arms.

My heart starts to race as I adjust myself to look at Asami. I just slept in the same bed as my teacher. Not only that, but I also slept in the arms of the woman I'm infatuated with.

Her soft green eyes look back at me, a gentle smile on her lips. Her hand moves and gently brushes a few stray hairs out my face, her fingers igniting goosebumps where they graze my skin.

"Good morning," she whispers, and I feel myself smiling. I can't help but wish I could wake up every morning to this view, to the sound of her voice, to the feel of her arms around me and my arms around her.

"Good morning," I whisper back

"How did you sleep?" She asks. There's something about the way she's looking at me. I can literally see the care and tenderness in her eyes. The way she's looking at me is making me feel nervous. A good nervous.

"Alright in the end... did I keep you awake?" I say, suddenly worried that she's gotten no sleep because of me.

"No no, I slept really well actually," she says. 

"I'm sorry for waking you up," I say, slightly embarrassed. I hate these nightmares and that I have no control over them.

"Honey please," she sighs, raise a hand and unconsciously tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear, a movement that must be innocent on her part but makes my heart flutter, "I've told you, I really don't mind. Now, I'll go make us breakfast and you pack your stuff, we've got to leave in an hour."

"Alright," I say, smiling as I watch her untangle her limbs from mine and slide off my bed. She looks absolutely adorable in her short shorts and tank top pajamas. She lingers by my door and looks back at me and smiles softly.

"I've enjoyed myself these past few days... thank you for forcing me to go on holiday with you," she says, and then disappears towards the kitchen before I can respond. I grin to myself.

I pack my bags and take a quick shower before dressing in a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a tank top. I make my way to the kitchen, feeling myself getting hungry at the smell of bacon and eggs.

"You still need to show me your music," she says, dishing up our breakfast she just made onto two plates and sliding one across to me along with a knife and fork and a cup of coffee, with milk and sugar. I smile at the fact that she somehow remembers the way I like my coffee.

"We can stop at a music store on the way out of Brighton and I'll buy a guitar," I say as we both start eating, "I need to buy my own guitar anyways. I left my old one in Cape Town."

“Thank you for breakfast by the way," I add, and she smiles that smile that makes the butterflies in my chest go insane.

"You're most welcome," she says.

"Oh and if I'm showing you my music, then remember you have to show me your writing," I grin and she rolls her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips.

"If you insist," she chuckles, giving in. After breakfast, Asami goes off to shower and pack while I wash the dishes and answer a bunch of messages from Yue, Jin, Song, Ty Lee, and Jinora.

Soon Asami and I are downstairs with our bags, signing out of the hotel and then making our way to the car park. Not long after that, we manage to spot a music store. Asami parks the car before we exit, and she follows me into the store.

Almost straight away after entering, I already spot a guitar on the display wall that I know immediately that I want it. One of the employees helps me get the guitar and stands while I take a seat and start playing around on the instrument, getting the feel of it.

"How long have you been playing guitar?" The employee asks, rather flirtatiously. He's young, mid-twenties, and not bad looking. However, I'm far from interested. Asami, who's standing to the side watching me pick a guitar seems to stiffen as if she too noticed the flirtatious tone.

"A while," I reply shortly, wondering why Asami stiffened. "Can you sing too?" He pushes, not giving up.

"Yeah," I say simply, trying out a new tune.

"Where you from?" This guy really wasn't giving up easily. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Asami's jaw clench, and I wonder if it's because she feels uncomfortable being around me, her student, while I get hit on, or if she's... jealous? No. Why would she be jealous?

"London," I say shortly, hoping this guy would get the message.

"Nice," he says, just as flirty as before, "are you going to sounds like summer in Kew Gardens on Saturday?"

"No," I continue with the one-word answers.

"You should try to get tickets," he comments, "Ed Sheeran is going to be playing."

At the sound of Ed Sheeran’s name, my head shoots up and my mouth drops open. Now he's got my attention.

"W-what?" I exclaim. It's been a dream of mine to see Ed live. "Yeah," he says, grinning, "we have some flyers if you want more information?”

"Yes please," I say, standing quickly, the guitar clutched in my one hand. I've decided to get this one, I like how it feels and sounds.

"I dunno if you're gonna be able to get tickets so close to that date," he says, fetching tickets from the counter.

"Trust me, I will," I mutter more to myself than to him, taking the poster from him and scanning over it eagerly. It's been nearly a year since I went to a concert.

Suddenly I realize that all my friends are out of town or overseas, spending time with family or boyfriends. I have no one to go with... wait a second.

"Oh god," Asami laughs as soon as I look at her. She knows what I'm about to ask.

"Pleaseeee??" I beg, giving her puppy eyes that only make her laugh more.

"Korra..." she begins, but I cut her off.

"Come on Asami! Ed Sheeran! Pleaseeee! I don't want to go alone!!!" I plead, she chuckles, and she seems to be considering it for a moment, fighting with herself in her head.

"I'll go with you if she won't," the guy from before steps in. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I'd rather go alone thanks. However, before I can decline, Asami cuts in. Obviously, the guy's suggestion helped her to make up her mind.

"Alright I'll go," she says, and I nearly burst with excitement and joy.

"THANK YOU!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around her, unable to contain myself. She laughs and hugs me back briefly before I pull away. I glance at the guy who seems mildly disappointed.

I pay for the guitar, turning down more flirtatious comments from the employee, who I must admit has some serious determination. He even leaves his phone number on the slip.

"How are you going to get tickets?" Asami asks amused as we're putting my new guitar and its case into the back of the Jeep Wrangler.

"My godfather is Bolin Earth," I laugh as we both get in and shut our doors, "if I wanted, I could get him to get Guns & Roses back together so I could have my own personal concert.”

"I can't believe you talked me into going with you to yet another thing," she muses as she starts reversing out our parking space.

"It didn't take THAT much convincing," I remind her.

"Well it was either me or that man who looked a little too old for you," she says, and I smile. She's being protective, even if it's not in the way I wish it to be, "and judging by the way he was looking at you, I don't think his intentions were pure."

"But admit it, even if he hadn't offered to go with me, I'm sure you would've given in," I say in a slightly teasing way.

"Maybe," she sighs, throwing me a glance, a smile playing on her lips.

"Like Ed Sheeran! How could you say no to that?!" I exclaim, getting excited all over again.

"Gosh... I haven't been to a concert in years," she says, raising her eyebrows as if she suddenly realizes how long it's been. She then smiles and glances at me with those beautiful eyes of her and says, "look at you, making me remember what it's like to be youthful."

"Well, are you having fun?" I say, smiling, a blush flowing into my cheeks. I can't help but blush around her. She looks back at the road, a broad smile lifting the corners of her lips.

"Actually," she says quietly, "I am."

My gaze lingers on her for a few seconds. She gets more beautiful each time I look at her. My heart begins to race just from the sight of her. I love her faint smile lines that have etched themselves delicately onto the corners of her lips just because she smiles so much. I love her soft green eyes that show so much integrity, care, and tenderness, and yet at the same time the speak firmly of strength, independence, and even wisdom. This is why it's hard to guess her age. Sometimes she looks unbelievably young, and then if you look a little bit closer, she looks older, like someone who's experienced enough of life to know some things.

I look down, my heart racing and the butterflies in my chest going crazy, my face hot.

"Are you going to play your music or shall I look for a decent radio station,” she asks, glancing at me, a sly smile on her face, almost as if she knows I was staring at her and she had read my thoughts, as impossible as that is.

“I’ll DJ,” I say, smiling, “let me just call my godfather so I can get us tickets for this concert on Saturday.”

I call Bolin and tell him about the concert, and he agrees to get us tickets, saying he’ll manage to find some connections somewhere, and I believe him. The rest of the trip I enjoy my last one on one time with Asami that I’ll be getting until Saturday, talking about random things and occasionally singing to random songs.

I feel myself falling in love with the way I feel around her, and I let myself fall.


	16. Chapter 16

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 16  
\--  
Korra's POV

I wake up on Thursday and immediately feel slightly empty. Wow, Korra, it hasn't even been twenty-four hours and you already miss her...

I sigh and get up. I drag myself to the kitchen and make myself a cup of coffee and let myself sink into my thoughts.

The good news is that Bo got me two tickets, so I'm definitely going to go to this concert on Saturday to see Ed Sheeran with Asami, which makes everything a hundred times better.

I keep having to remind myself that Asami, is in fact my teacher, and when we go back to school I'm going to have to address her as Miss Sato, and I'm going to have to get used to treating her as my teacher and having her treat me as her student again.

She has been treating me differently, these last few days I mean, when it's just been me and her. I guess that is called for, we were in a more casual setting and it would be weird if we still maintained that Teacher-Student professional relationship.

I sip my coffee and move to one of the chairs looking out on the beautiful city view of London's skyline in the early hours of the morning.

I wonder if Asami does know I have feelings for her... I mean she's most definitely caught me blushing more than once when we accidentally come into contact. Then again, she wouldn't have agreed to come to this concert with me if she knew I did have feelings for her.

I fish my phone out my pocket of my hoodie that I wore to sleep and remove the cover, picking up the two photobooth photos and look at them, feeling my heart swell, and a smile crawl on my lips as the memories of us in that photobooth come rushing to mind. More memories of us on those roller coasters, her screaming and me laughing, come to mind too, and my smile broadens. Then the memory of us dancing to Ed Sheeran on the pier comes into focus and my heart skips several beats as I picture how she had looked at me.

"You alright there, Miss?" Aiwei's voice calls me out of my flashback. I look around sharply and see him in his smart tux and white gloves standing a respectful distance away, watching me.

"I'm perfect," I say, giving him a smile, "how are you this morning Aiwei?"

"I'm good thank you Miss," he says, a small smile on his old face appearing.

"Korra," I say, "please call me Korra."

"Right you are Mi-Korra," he says, nodding once, before disappearing off to complete his butler duties. Whatever those might be.

I decided to start on some of my holiday assignments, starting with my worst subject, French.

I work the whole day, only stopping for lunch and a few short breaks to answer texts from my friends. I find it sweet that all of them send me a message at least every other day to ask how I'm doing and what I'm up too. Yue and Jinora talk to me every day, and I really appreciate that.

After dinner, as I'm getting ready for bed, my phone screen lights up, and I see that Jinora is calling me. I feel slightly anxious, which is a feeling I always get before phone calls, I'm not sure why.

"Hello?" I say into the phone, after picking it up.

"Korra!" Jinora shouts, making me wince and move the phone slightly away from my ear.

"Sorry!" I hear her apologize, "just got excited coz I haven't heard your voice in a while!"

"Miss me that much huh?" I chuckle into the line.

"Missing you tons my beautiful friend," she sighs drastically, "soooo, what you been doing? You haven't been very detailed or responsive over text"

"Sorry I'm not very good at the whole texting thing," I say sheepishly.

"Agh it's fine, I get you," she says, "sooo, tell me what you've been up too!"

"Well I went to Brighton for a few days," I let slip, and suddenly realize that I can't tell her who it is I went with. My mind panics and scrambles for a lie.

"Ohhh! And how was it?" She says excitedly.

"It was a lot of fun," I smile, Asami's face coming to mind, "it's a beautiful place."

"It really is!" She squeals, "who did you go with?"

"A cousin," I lie, and then quickly change the topic, "and what have you been doing?"

I stay on the phone with Jinora for an entire half an hour, which is long for me. I've never even had a phone call last half as long before. She tells me about the fun she's having in Wales with her grandparents and brother and cousins, and I tell her about going to Sounds Like Summer on Saturday, and she gets really jealous. Eventually, we end the call, both admitting that we need some sleep.

I fall asleep thinking about the raven-haired goddess that usually occupies my mind, and I wondering what she did today and if she's maybe, possibly thinking about me too.

***

Asami's POV

"So, your sister is coming?" Opal asks, walking into the kitchen. I'm sitting at the kitchen counter checking my emails and drinking my morning tea.

"Mmhmm," I say, clicking on another email from another student asking me a question on the assignment I gave their year for the holidays. I give the students my email to use for such questions when I'm not there to answer in person.

"Aww I wish I didn't have work today," she pouts, "It's been months since I saw mini-Asami."

Ever since she met Mai, my younger sister, she's been calling her mini-Asami. Albeit, she does look a lot like I do. Same hair, same nose, and eyebrows, same body build. Our only difference is her lips are thinner than mine and she has a slightly different face structure and she has our grandmother’s small pixie-ears.

“I’ll give her your love for you," I chuckle.

"Thanks, babes," Opal says, kissing me cheek on her way out the door.

"Have a good day at work," I yell after her.

"Have a good day laying on your ass!" She sounds back as the door shuts. I smile and shake my head to myself. I finish answering my emails before showering and getting dressed. Just as I've finished blow drying my hair, there's a knock at the door and I smile.

"Coming!" I yell as I make my way hastily towards the front door. I open it and a blur of raven attacks me, and I laugh as I wrap my arms around the smaller waist of my baby sister, Mai.

"I've missed you, Mai," I say, still holding onto her tightly.

"Of course you have," she says pulling away, making me roll my eyes. "I've missed you too Asami," she sighs, and I laugh.

"How's Zuko?" I ask, closing the door behind her as we make our way to the kitchen.

"He's good," she says, a smitten look crossing her face, "we're great... agh Asami, I wish you'd find someone… it's so incredible coming home to him every day after work."

I smile, incredibly happy for her. Zuko is a great guy, a piece of gold in a sea of charcoal. And if anyone deserves a good catch like him, Mai does. In fact, it's not a question of who she deserves, it's a question of who deserves her, and if anyone does, Zuko does.

I feel guilt hit me suddenly as I think of Korra. I wish I could tell Mai about Korra… but I can't. Mai is amazing enough to look past the age gap, but the fact that Korra's my student? Even Mai wouldn't be supportive of that. I could get sent to jail, I will lose any respect and reputation I've built up. Mai is my sister and I know she wants the best for me.

"You okay?" Mai asks, and I look at her, shaking myself out of my thoughts. I see that she's looking at me with a concerned look on her face. I quickly smile and nod.

"I'm great," I say, and she scowls at me. "Okay liar," she snorts.

"I'm not lying," I lie, knowing I'm already making myself sink faster. We've grown up together. She knows when I'm lying whether I like it or not.

"Oh really?" She raises her eyebrows, "then riddle me this Sami. Mom told me she met your girlfriend."

My heart sinks and my breath catches in my throat. I'd completely forgotten about the exhibition when Korra had pretended to be my girlfriend and I'd had to introduce her as my girlfriend to my parents to avoid any awkwardness with the man my mother had brought along to set me up with.

"Now, what's been confusing me, Asami," Mai says carefully, and I can tell she's slightly pissed off. She folds her arms and raises an eyebrow while she tilts her head, "is that as your sister, I know you'd TELL me if you started seeing someone wayyy before you would tell mom."

"Mai…” I try. How am I supposed to explain this to her? I am so stupid! I should have known my mother would go tell the entire family… oh god could this situation get worse??

"Careful Asami," she warns, "don't lie to me again."

"Can we sit down?" I sigh, turning to the cabinet with the wine glasses and fetching two glasses.

"Alright," she says, still obviously mad at me. I take the two glasses and a bottle of wine and make my way to the lounge area where Mai is already sitting, her arms still folded and her eyes still staring at me seriously.

"It's a long, rather complicated story," I start, trying desperately to analyze the best way to phrase this story to Mai, "and I need you to promise to be understanding and not to judge, also to let me finish the story."

"Asami come on, do you really need to ask me to be understanding? When have I ever judged you… seriously Asami..." she rolls her eyes as she takes a glass of wine from me.

"Do you want an explanation?" I ask, raising my eyebrows at her.

"Yes," she sighs, "I promise to let you finish talking and I promise not to judge you."

"Thank you," I say, taking a deep breath. Mai gestures for me to continue, "Mako invited me to an art exhibition last weekend on Saturday. I accidentally mentioned it to mom, and she decided she was going to go, and you know how she is, always trying to set me up."

Mai laughs, nodding her head. She had the same problem with our mother until she met Zuko, her now husband.

"Anyways, while I was there, I bumped into one of my students," I continue, and then pause.

"What?" Mai says frowning, and then adds, "whatever it is that you're considering telling me or not, just tell me."

I smile. She knows me way too well.

"Before I realized it was my students… how do I put this... let’s just say she looked nothing like a seventeen-year-old," I sigh, sipping my wine as I wait for Mai to comment.

"So, you were checking her out?" Mai raises her eyebrows in surprise.

"You could put it like that, yes," I nod slowly.

"What happened after you realized it was your student?" She asks, leaning forward.

"I was very taken aback," I chuckle, remembering the evening, "and I was shocked, I didn't know what to think. I mean I had just been 'checking out' my student."

"That's not such a big problem," Mai cuts in, "I'm sure after you realized it was a student if you're you didn't see her like that right?"

I stay silent, staring in my glass as I swirl the wine around.

"Oh my god Asami," Mai says, collapsing back onto the couch as she realizes what I've just silently admitted to.

"Okay just listen," I say quickly, "let me explain."

"Please do explain," she says, clearly shocked. She knows this, me liking a student or someone younger than me, is completely not my nature.

"Mako is her art teacher, so he recognized her as well and went to greet her. We had already made eye contact so it would have been awkward if I had just ignored her, so I went to greet her too. Mako then left us alone to go say hello to someone else her knew, and Korra, that's her name by the way, and I started talking. After a little while a man approached us and started flirting, I froze, not sure how to address the situation. It is kind of awkward being hit on by a stranger while you're with your student. Korra obviously noticed I was feeling awkward and well after trying to shut down the man to no prevail, she acted like we were 'together' to get him to leave us alone," I pause for a moment to let Mai ask any questions.

"When you say 'together', you mean she acted like you two were dating?" Mai asks, her eyes wide. I nod.

"That must have made you feel even more awkward," she mutters.

"Actually, it didn't," I say, surprising her yet again, "after she explained why she had pretended to be my girlfriend, it sort of made sense at the time."

"Okay now I'm curious," Mai states, leaning forward again, "Is this the girl who you introduced to mom as your girlfriend?!?"

"Okay let me explain," I say, "mom and dad arrived then and walked over, and as always, mom had brought another man she wanted to match me up with. However, the man she brought was the same man who had hit on Korra and me earlier-"

"Oh shit, I think I see where this is going," Mai interrupts, and then raises her hands in defensive as I give her a let me finish talking look.

"As I was saying, the man mom had brought already thought Korra and I were together, it would be awkward if suddenly we weren't together anymore, so I was in a way forced to tell introduce Korra as my girlfriend," I finish.

"Ahhh, I see now," she nods slowly, seemingly less mad at me. She then frowns.

“You said that when you first saw her before you recognized she was your student, that you were checking her out?" She asks, to which I nod. There's no point lying. Besides, I need someone to talk to about this, about Korra and these feelings that I fear are developing.

"What about the rest of the night?" Mai continues. I pause, thinking about how I'm supposed to admit that I was, and still am, attracted to my student.

"That's what I want to talk to you about," I say, basically telling her that I was attracted to Korra and I was checking her out even after I realized she was my student. Mai gasps, covering her mouth. This reaction was expected, and I can't blame her for being shocked. She knows that I prefer to date older people, and I have never before been attracted to anyone younger than me. I've always liked mature men or women, and a seventeen-year-old does not match those preferences. Then again Korra is not like any seventeen-year-old I've ever met and being a teacher, I have met quite a few.

"Oh my god Asami, your fucking student?" She almost yells.

"Can you please listen before you start judging and lecturing me?" I sigh, and she purses her lips, remembering her promise to me that she'd let me finish explaining myself.

"At first I thought it was just because she was out of uniform and wearing makeup and looked a lot older," I start talking again, Mai listening intently, “I thought maybe I wasn't attracted to her, maybe I was just confused because I had been checking her out and then suddenly she revealed herself as one of my students. I figured that when I saw her back in school settings everything would be back to normal and I could forget about the embarrassing fact that for a few moments I thought my student was attractive, regardless of the fact that I had no idea it was indeed my student at the time. Then, her godfather appeared towards the end of the night when Korra and I were talking, and somehow one thing led to another and he somehow convinced me to accompany Korra to Brighton-"

"What?!" Mai interrupts, unable to help herself.

"For god sakes Mai let me finish!" I growl at her and she pretends to zip her lips closed, locking them and throwing away the invisible key.

"As I was saying, he convinced me to go to Brighton with Korra, saying he was too busy to company her himself and that all her friends are out of town. So I went to Brighton, thinking that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea after a long term and that maybe I'd realize that I am not attracted to Korra, that it was an 'in the moment' thing," I continue, sighing as I remembered the way Korra started to make me feel on our trip. How I had realized that I had indeed developed feelings. I proceed with my story, Mai listening intently, "however I was proven wrong. I don't know what it is about her, I don't know why she stands out to me more than anyone I've met in a long time. But, two days ago on our last night, I came to the conclusion that. I can't believe I'm saying this… I've developed feelings for my student."

Mai stares at me for a good few seconds, her mouth slightly gaping and her eyes wide.

"You may say something now," I sigh, bracing myself for a lecture.

"Hold on, I'm processing," she says, holding up a finger. I allow her to process. If I were in her position I would be pretty taken aback too. 

"How… how strong are your feelings?" She finally asks.

"I'm not sure how to answer that," I say, frowning slightly.

"Are they at a mild crush stage, would you be able to ignore them and get over them?" She rephrases, and I pause as I think about it.

"No... they're stronger than that. If I could ignore them and get over them, I wouldn't exactly be stressing and needing to talk to my sister about them," I say, and she nods slowly, clearly still trying to piece everything together and make sense of my situation.

“Are you sexually attracted to her?" She asks after a brief hesitation. I chuckle at the question, memories of how she makes me feel when she addresses me by my teacher’s name floods to my mind. A quick flashback of how she felt on top of me when she straddled me that day at the beach also resurfaces.

“Yes, there were times when I definitely found myself sexually attracted to her," I reply.

"But It's not just a sexual attraction you feel?" She says. I think back to when we danced to Ed Sheeran on the pier and I shake my head. It is definitely not only a sexual attraction I feel.

"Wow…" she says, slumping back into the couch, staring off into outer space.

"I know," I sigh, "this caught me completely off guard too. It came out of nowhere. I've never felt anything like this for any of my students, I've never even contemplated the idea of feeling this way towards a student"

"How old is she?" Mai asks, and I notice she's started to smile now. "Seventeen... Mai why are you smiling?" I say, frowning at her.

"Putting aside how illegal and unprofessional this all is, it is kind of funny," she says, giggling to herself.

"Please do explain why and how this is funny," I roll my eyes at her.

"You haven't been in a truly serious relationship since Ning, you haven't had any sort of interest in feelings like these towards anyone in years! I mean you haven't developed feelings for anyone that got you excited enough to tell me about them without me having to ask you. And now you finally find that person who sparks up these feelings and that person happens to be nine years younger than you, which would be the first person younger than you that you've ever developed a crush on, and she's your student! Your fucking student! I mean what are the chances! You have really shitty luck sis," she laughs, and I feel a smile coming on. She does have a point.

"What is she like?" She asks, surprising me. So far, she hasn't reprimanded me or lectured me, or responded in any way I thought someone would if they found out that I, a teacher, had started falling for a student.

"Korra?" I ask, and she rolls her eyes and gives me a 'duh' look. I smile, thinking about Korra now How do I even being to start describing Korra? Where do I start?

"She's really mature… nothing like any teenager I've ever met or known,” I say, and Mai chuckles.

"I gathered as much, you wouldn't crush on someone immature," Mai smiles, making me laugh. Her words couldn't be truer.

"She's... she's so beautiful..." I continue, feeling my heart flutter at just the picture of her smile, of her eyes, her voice... her in general, "she's smart, really smart. She's sweet... kind... everything she does is... is just so-“

"Perfect?" Mai interrupts quietly, helping me find my words. I look over at her and see that she's smiling softly at me.

"What?" I ask.

"I haven't heard you talk about someone like this before," she smiles, "you really like her, don't you?"

"I know I shouldn't... if I could, I would stop these feelings... it's illegal and wrong, I'm aware... I just can't help it." I sigh, staring at my hands, which lie loosely in my lap.

"Would you really stop these feelings? If you could?" Mai asks, causing me to look up. I pause as I think about her question... these feelings, as wrong as they are, cause my heart to race, my chest to flutter with butterflies, my skin tingles with anticipation of her touch. Even now, even though it's only been a day since 1 last saw her, I feel myself longing for her presence. I feel young again, I feel like a teenager falling in love. I love these feelings. 

I don't need to respond to Mai's question. My silence says enough, and she nods, understanding.

"I don't know what to do," I say quietly, staring at my lap, "I can't be with her. I'm her teacher, it's illegal. Even after she graduates at the end of this year, it would still be frowned upon if we did get into an open relationship... and it's not like she has feelings in return-"

Mai's loud laugh interrupts me.

"Honey, you're an eleven out of ten. I'm promising you now, and I've said this before, at least half your students have a crush on you, regardless if they're all females and the minority are straight," she chuckles, and I smile slightly.

"Still, I'm quite a bit older than her. Nearly a decade, is that even a turn on for seventeen-year-olds?" I ask, rhetorically, however, Mai still answers.

"Fuck yes, don't tell me you didn't want to get with at least one guy or girl ten years older than you were when you were seventeen," she snorts. She does have a point. 

"Besides the point Mai," I sigh angrily, "any form of relationship beyond 'friends' at most is out of the question. I need to force myself to stop this, this ridiculous crush. I need to get a grip."

"I'm sorry Asami," Mai says, and I look over at her to see her looking at me with a sad look in her eyes.

"What have you got to be sorry for?" I say, giving her a smile.

"That she's your student," she says, and I look away, deciding I don't want to talk about it anymore. I can feel my heart clenching slightly in pain as I'm hit with the true realization that Korra will never be more to me then a friend at most.

"So, what are your plans for this weekend? Zuko and I are thinking about having a roast and inviting the family over?" Mai asks, sensing that I want a change in topic of conversation. I tense up as I remember that I have a music festival to attend to with Korra. How am I going to explain THAT to Mai? I scramble for an excuse.

"Tomorrow I've already made plans to have a get together with some college friends," I say. She frowns skeptically.

"Where are you going?" She asks.

"To a music festival," I say, trying my hardest to sound convincing. She pauses and then nods.

I change the topic back to her and her marriage, which she gladly talks about. Soon we head out for a late lunch and by late afternoon we bid each other goodbye and I return to my computer where I start planning all my classes for the next term.

I jump suddenly at the sound of my phone ringing, breaking my concentration and the silence that had been building up in the apartment for over an hour. I allow myself to recover from the miniature heart attack before picking up my phone without even checking the name.

"Hello?"

"So, I went shopping today and I figured were the same size, right? Anyways so yeah I went shopping and I got you some outfits that I think will make you look like a teenager because I kinda assumed you no longer own young people clothes, and I don't mean that in an offensive way," the voice on the other line erupts straight into conversation, and it doesn't take me long to figure out who it is. I feel myself smiling as she talks.

"Hello Korra, how are you?" I laugh.

"Oh yes sorry! Hi Asami, I'm excited, how are you?" She says, making me smile softly. I can hear the excitement in her voice, which makes me glad that I decided to come with her to the concert.

"I'm good thank you," I reply, "you brought me clothes?"

"Well I brought ME clothes, but they'll fit you and I brought clothes that I thought would suit you, so you don't have to keep them, I mean unless you want to, but if you want to look like a teenager and disguise yourself tomorrow in case any of your students ARE there they won't recognize you," she says, making me smile further. She really is adorable, especially in this exciting mood that makes her talk a lot.

"How thoughtful," I chuckle, "is my fashion sense too old for you?" "No! Not at all, that's not what I meant," she says quickly.

"Korra I'm kidding," I laugh, and she sighs in relief.

"Okay good," She says, "so can I come over to yours tomorrow morning so I can teenage you up? I'd offer for you to come over to my place, but my godfather is having some sort of Skype meeting and he wants dead silence."

"Sure," I chuckle. Behind me, I hear the front door open and I turn to see a rather exhausted Opal walking in.

"What time?" She asks.

"Um well, what time is the festival?" I ask as Opal drops her bags on the kitchen counter and walks over to give me a greeting kiss on the cheek.

"It starts at 10 apparently but I was thinking we would go at four-ish? Ed Sheeran is only on at 4, and all the other good artists and DJs are on after him," she says. Next to me, Opal frowns, not recognizing the voice on my phone call. She mouths 'who are you talking to?'

"Come over at 11:30," I say.

"Alright! Yay, thank you again for deciding to come with me Asami," she says, making me smile. I shove Opal away as she tries to press her ear to the other side of my phone, trying to listen in.

"Okay Korra, I’ll see you tomorrow," I say, making Opal frown as she tries to figure out who Korra is.

"Bye Miss Sato," she says, and I hang up the phone.

"Who is Korra- OH WAIT ISNT THAT YOUR STUDENT?" Opal shouts as the realization kicks in. I shield my ears.

"Why are you shouting!" I exclaim.

"What was that phone call about?" She pushes, being her curious self.

"Nothing," I lie, not quick enough to come up with a better lie.

"Excuse me, spit it out or I'll annoy you," she threatens.

"Sometimes I wonder how you're older than me," I roll my eyes at her.

"Asami why can't you just tell me? What are you hiding?" She whines.

"I'm having a reunion with some high school friends," I lie, creating a similar excuse to the one I told Mai earlier.

"Bullshit," she says, frowning at me.

"Why?" I ask

"Because I just got off the phone with Mai," she says, and I feel my heart sink. I really can't catch a break. I keep getting caught out... this is why I normally never lie.

"And Mai says that you told her you had a reunion with some varsity friends. Now, I know for sure that you would've told me about a reunion, and considering we shared most of our friends in college, I would've been invited to this reunion," she says, folding her arms across her chest and raising an eyebrow, "also, why would you tell Mai you were having a college reunion and then tell me you are having a high school reunion?"

"Fine. You caught me. You know I'm terrible at lying," I sigh.

"You shouldn't have to lie to me, or your sister for that matter," she says sternly, making me feel like a reprimanded child.

"I know…" I say, feeling guilty. She has a point, and I feel like shit for lying to both of them.

"However, me being the bestest of friends, I covered your ass and confirmed that we are having a reunion at... What was it? A music festival?" She says, making me smile. She really is the most perfect best friend I could ever ask for.

"So," She says, "I think you owe me the truth." "I guess I do," I sigh.

"On the phone, was that Korra, your student, the same one you went to Brighton with?" She asks, pulling out a seat. I close my computer and give her my full attention.

"Yes," I admit.

"The goddaughter Of Bolin Earth?" She asks, and I nod.

"And what was the phone call about?" She continues with her questions, "what are you really doing tomorrow?"

"Well, all her friends are out of town and she found a concert that she really wants to go to. I agreed to go with her, and the phone call was her telling me that she's going to decide my outfit so that I don't look like a teacher," I say.

"Why did you lie to Mai and I about this? Why not just tell us?"

"Honestly I thought you both would find it strange," sigh, twisting the truth slightly, "means that I'm somewhat befriending my student."

"Sami, it's not that weird. I remember once going to watch a movie with a teacher and some friends in high school. It's pretty normal to get close with certain teachers, you forget that we're all human, and certain humans connect with other humans, it doesn't matter if they're your student or your boss, we can’t help the fact that we're drawn to someone else. It's not strange that you're befriending your student. I'm honestly surprised you haven't become friends with a student before," she says, and I realize that what she's saying makes a lot of sense.

Maybe I have been over-thinking certain things. Befriending Korra isn't against the law, as long as we're respectful of each other during school time. Of course, the part about me being attracted to her is against the law, but as long as I contain myself there's nothing wrong with us maintaining a normal friendship. I smile.

"You're right," I say, "I didn't see it like that."

"I’m very wise you know," she says, flicking her hair and making me laugh.

"So, this Korra girl, she's coming over tomorrow to basically dress you up?" She chuckles, and I actually feel a weight I didn't realize I had to lift off my shoulders. I feel a lot better that Opal knows the truth, or at least most of the truth. I hate lying to my best friend. In fact, there's only probably been two occasions in the past 6 years that I've lied to her.

"She says I look too much like an adult," I laugh.

"I like the sound of this girl already," Opal grins.

"Wait a second, didn't you say you'd get me a date with Bolin Earth?" She suddenly remembers, making me groan.

"You said you would!! Come on!! He does owe you for watching over Korra in Brighton!! Call Korra back right now and check if she can hook me up with her godfather!!" She says excitedly. I laugh and shake my head.

"Please Asami, please! It'll be your way of apologizing for lying to me AND Thanking me for having your back and lying to Mai," she says, manipulatively. I groan.

"Fine," I mutter, and Opal jumps up and does a celebration dance. I pick up my phone and redial Korra's number.

"Put it on speaker!" Opal commands as the phone starts to ring. I laugh and obey her command. After a few rings, Korra picks up.

"Hello?" Korra’s voice causes my heart rate to increase.

"Hello Korra, sorry to bother you," I chuckle.

"You're not bothering me," she says, "how can I help?"

"Hi Korra, I'm Opal, Asami's roommate," Opal cuts in, and I sit back, smiling and shaking my head as I let her do the talking. I hear Korra laugh.

"Hi Opal," she says, amusement ringing in her voice.

"Okay, so Asami told me that your godfather is Bolin Earth and she promised me she’d get me a date with him," Opal starts explaining, "don't you want to be a doll and get me this date?"

"Sure, I'll check with him," Korra laughs. Opal jumps up and down like a twelve-year-old.

"Bo!" There's a distant yell. And even more distant 'I'm in the kitchen what do you want?'. Opal and I wait for a few minutes, trying to listen to a muffled conversation between Korra and Bolin from the other side of the line.

"He wants to know how old you are," Korra says, back on the phone.

"I'm twenty-seven," Opal says excitedly. We listen to Korra’s muffled answer to her godfathers’ question.

"He wants to know what you do for a living," Korra says back to us.

"I'm a surgeon," Opal says, clasping her hands together. Korra repeats this information to Bolin.

"He says he's very interested, he wants your phone number," Korra says, and Opal squeals.

"Thank you so much, Korra! You are an angel!" Opal shouts, and I laugh and pick up the phone, turning it off speaker.

"Sorry about that," I chuckle, "But thank you."

"Of course," Korra laughs, "happy to help.”

“So, I'll send you Opal's details?" I ask.

"Yes please," Korra says, making me smile. I really do love the sound of her voice. I don't realize how much I miss it when I'm not hearing it all the time.

"Thank you again Korra," I say, laughing at my friend doing a victory dance around the kitchen counter.

"Of course, Miss Sato, I'll see you tomorrow?" She says, sending shivers over my skin as she calls me by my last name.

"See you tomorrow Korra," I say, lowering the phone as I hear the beep of her cutting the call.

Tomorrow should be fun.


	17. Chapter 17

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 17  
\--  
Korra's POV

I decide to take the train to Asami's apartment instead of accepting a lift from Aiwei in the Jaguar. The nice thing is that Asami's apartment is only 5 stops away from mine on the same line, and Kew Gardens is a further 11 stops on the same track. At least after the festival, Asami and I can just hop back on this train and she'll get off at her stop and I'll get off at mine another S stops further, no complications or anything.

The entire morning I've been kind of nervously running around. I'm super excited to see Ed Sheeran, but honestly, the main thing I've been looking forward to is spending the day with Asami.

Yesterday I went shopping, mostly because I suddenly realized that I didn't have anything that would go with a summer music festival vibe. While I was cruising through Top Shop, H&M, and all the others on Bond street, I found myself picking out other outfits that I thought would suit Asami. At first, I wasn't doing it on purpose, but then I decided that maybe it would be necessary to make Asami look like more of a teenager. Yes, she looks young, like she's in her early twenties, but she wears sophisticated clothes that allow people to assume she's in her late twenties or possibly even thirties. One of the reasons why it's so hard to guess her age.

In the end, I found the perfect outfit for me. Summer beach sandals, black frayed short shorts with a red rose pattern on the one leg, a Calvin Klein netted top with a sown in CK bra. I'm not wearing the outfit now; I'm planning on changing later when we leave for the festival. In my bag, I have a variety of shorts, tops, dresses, and accessories that I'm going to make Asami try on. Honestly, I'm just happy she's letting me pick her outfit for her.

I'm slightly nervous to meet her roommate and best friend, Opal. I'm not sure why I'm nervous.

I managed to get Bolin to go on a date with Opal. He was a bit disappointed that Asami wasn't the one asking for a date, but I'm guessing he assumed she would be just as hot as Asami if she was her best friend. Plus, he got interested when he found out she's a surgeon. Most of the women he goes out with are airheads, only dating him for the money. I suppose that's why he rarely has a lasting relationship. For the first few weeks, it's all good until he realizes she's just as uninteresting and basic as the last girl and he moves on. Maybe he's getting bored of dating young blondes that have nothing more to them than their looks. Maybe he's decided he might want to start settling down and find a woman who's a little bit more interesting and brings him a bit of a challenge. 

I emerge from the underground and find myself facing Asami's apartment building. I double-check the address she sent me last night and take a deep breath before crossing the road and buzzing her apartment number.

"Hello?" I hear a voice that I am sure is Opal's through the intercom.

"It's Korra," I say, and I hear a buzz and push the building door open and make my way to a lift. Once inside the lift I push the floor level that Asami told me too, and when the lift comes to a stop a get out and find the door with the correct number on it. I knock and wait, feeling my heart pound in my chest in anticipation to see the face of the woman who's occupied every single thought of mine for the past week.

"Hello, Korra!" An enthusiastic black-haired woman answers the door, and I assume this is Opal. She definitely is beautiful, that much is for sure. Bolin will be impressed. 

"Hi, you must be Opal?" I say as she steps to the side to let me in.

"That I am... damn you are stunning," she says, raising her eyebrows as her eyes scan me. I blush.

"Thank you," I say, giving her a smile as she shuts the door.

"Hello, Korra," Asami's angelic voice sends shivers down my spine. I turn and see the flawless green-eyed woman standing with that heart racing gentle smile on her lips. I smile.

"Hi," I say timidly.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Opal asks me.

"Yes please," I say, glancing at Opal.

"We only have wine, water, coffee, and tea I'm afraid," she says, walking into the kitchen. I throw Asami a teasing grin.

"Wine would be great," I say to Opal and I watch the smirk on Asami's face grow and she rolls her eyes.

"No wine for her!" Asami shouts towards the kitchen, causing Opal to laugh.

"Waters fine thanks Opal," I say, smiling, my eyes meeting Asami's again. She's still staring at me, a soft smile playing on her lips. There's a gentle, caring look in her eyes as she watches at me, and I feel my heart skip several beats in nervousness at her gaze.

“Are you looking forward to seeing Ed Sheeran?" She asks, gesturing for me to follow her to the lounge set.

"You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to today," I say, not able to control my excitement. She chuckles softly, making my heart flutter at the sound. She sits down and I sit down across from her. Opal enters and hands me a glass of water.

"Let's see these outfits you've brought! I want to see what the youngsters are wearing these days," Opal says, sitting down. I laugh and pull my tog bag towards me and unzip it.

"Okay let's start with the dresses," I begin. For the next hour, I show Asami and Opal all the items I brought along, and Opal gives her opinion while Asami just laughs at both of us. Occasionally I catch Asami staring at me with that soft, caring, gentle gaze and I can't help but wonder why. And what does that gaze mean? Maybe I'm looking too into it and imagining that she's staring at me more than necessary.

Opal and I work together on figuring out Asami's outfit, making her go back and forth between the lounge and her bedroom, trying on each outfit until we're happy. Asami doesn't seem to mind anything we make her wear, she just goes with it, smiling her breathtaking smile. I honestly wouldn't have minded if she wore anything, she'd look gorgeous either way.

"Okay, so now we have your outfit ready," I say, grinning as I fish some temporary tattoos, the simple gold and silver ones that a lot of girls use when going to festivals, "let me dazzle you up even more."

"Oh god," Asami groans dramatically, "you really are making me look like I’m eighteen, aren't you?"

"Oooo these are so cool! I kinda want to go with you two nowww," Opal says, taking the temporary tattoos out my hand and scanning over them.

I let Asami pick a few and then, with Opal's help, apply them on her, like around her wrists and ankles, on her collar bone and running down her neck from behind her one ear. Even one design on her hip bone from where a strip of her stomach shows from her top.

Asami insists that I let her do my hair, and I accept before going and changing into my own outfit. When I emerge Opal immediately gasps and showers me with compliments on how 'tasty' I look, and how hot I am. However, I can't really focus on Opal when Asami is standing there, looking incredible and staring at me like I'm the only thing in the room.

Asami does my hair while I let Opal apply my makeup and by the time it hits two o'clock Asami and I are ready and leave the apartment.

"Opal is quite a character," I chuckle as Asami and I enter the elevator and start heading down to the ground floor.

"She most definitely it," Asami agrees, smiling. I can't help but stare at her. She looks so unbelievably sexy. Maybe I should've chosen a more modest outfit, how on earth am I going to keep my hands to myself…

"What?" I hear Asami ask, and I realize she's noticed me looking at her.

"You just look nothing like Miss Sato," I grin at her, feeling my face blush.

"Is that a good thing?" She asks, smirking at me as we exit the elevator and make our way out the building and across the road to the train station.

"Well if we do manage to bump into any of your students, they definitely won't recognize you unless they look really closely," I say, adding, "also you… you look good."

She looks at me quickly, a smile forming on her lips.

"I have you to thank, this is all you," she grins, gesturing over herself.

We pause our conversation as we tap our cards and enter the train station.

"Also," She continues while we fall back into step next to each other as we make our way to our platform, "you look good too."

I burn with a blush and an uncontrollable smile spreads across my face at the compliment.

"How do you think Opal and your godfather's date will go tonight?" She asks as we step onto the train. We find seats, both of us ignoring lustful looks thrown our way.

"I think she's a bit different from his normal type, but a good different. I'm hoping it goes well," I say. Asami asks me more about Bolin and his previous relationships, and what he is like to me, and how he knew my parents for the rest of our train ride, and I talk gladly. Even on a train filled with other passengers it still feels like Asami and I are the only two people in the world. I really enjoy how when we talk, she gives me all her attention, her light green eyes embracing me in the safe environment I've fallen in love with.

We reach our final stop near Kew Gardens at 2:30, and as soon as we exit the station, we can hear the music drifting from the direction of the festival. It's a beautiful day, the sun is out blazing. I smile in satisfaction. Perfect weather for a summer music festival.

***

Asami's POV

I can't stop myself from stealing glances at Korra, she's incredibly eye-catching. I'm obviously not the only one who thinks so, as we walk through the gates of Kew gardens and towards the ticket gates, I'm well aware of the heads turned in our direction. I feel irritated as I watch boys of all ages stare at Korra lustfully, scanning her legs and stomach desirably.

"Ooo I smell mini donuts," Korra comments, making me smile. By now we've entered the concert area itself, which is massive. There's a gigantic stage about three hundred meters away with two large screens showing a DJ throwing his hands in the air. Hundreds of young adults and older teenagers crowd around the stage, jumping and dancing.

The crowd thins out the further it gets from the stage, and to the left are lines of stands selling cool drinks and food. Here at the back of the area are groups and clusters of people and couples, either sitting on the grass relaxing, eating, and talking or standing around waiting for their friends to arrive.

"Do you want to go get some donuts?" I chuckle at Korra, gesturing to the food stands. She grins widely as she slides on her sunglasses and nods eagerly.

"Can I ask something?" She asks as we join a cue to a mini donut stand.

"Mmhmm," I nod.

"What are we?" She asks. I give her a curious frown, urging her to elaborate.

"I mean," she says quickly, "I'm assuming you don't usually spend this much time with your students outside of school, or go to music festivals with them or give them your number or allow them into your apartment and let them pick outfits for you..."

I smile slightly, understanding what she's asking now I feel relieved that she asked, after all, I had been asking myself the same question. Yesterday when I'd spoken to Opal, she had made me realize that it's okay to befriend some of your students.

"Well no, I don't usually do this with my students," I chuckle, "But I think it's safe to say that we are 'friends' if you'd like to put a label on it."

"And you're comfortable with... being friends with your student?" She asks as we move forward in the line.

"I guess I'm comfortable being friends with you, I've never felt the need to be friends with a student before,” I say and then ask, "Are you comfortable being friends with your teacher?"

"I'm comfortable being friends with you," she grins, copying my answer. I bump her with my shoulder playfully. By now we've reached the front of the line and Korra places her order, and before she can get out her wallet, I pay for her, earning a scowl from her.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm buying you donuts," I laugh.

"Fine then I'm feeding you half," she says, taking her tray of donuts from the worker behind the counter.

"I won't object," I smirk at her as we move away, walking towards a drink stand. We join the cue and I turn to Korra, who I see is fishing a donut with a mini fork.

"Open up," She says, making me laugh.

"So, you were serious when you said you were going to feed them to me?" I laugh, obeying her command and opening my mouth. She feeds me the donut, purposefully letting caramel and chocolate drip onto my face.

"Korra!" I exclaim through a muffled mouth filled with the donut, laughing. She smirks evilly. I use my thumb to wipe off the chocolate and caramel, lilting my finger clean afterwards when I'm done swallowing. I throw her a fake glower, to which she responds by sticking her tongue out and forking a donut into her own mouth.

I order our drinks, paying again before she can, earning another glare from her. We make our way slowly towards the crowd, Korra feeding me donuts and eating half herself until we've finished them. Korra throws away the tray and wipes her hands clean on a Kleenex wipe she brought with. 

"Did you enjoy your donuts?" I smirk at her.

"Very much so. Thank you," She says, giving me a smile that makes my butterflies in my chest flutter nervously. Her attention moves to the stage, a smile flittering on her lips.

"I like this song," she says, starting to move slowly. I feel the growing sensation of my arousal as I watch her move to the beat of the music. She really does know how to match rhythm.

"Come on, finish your drink so we can dance our way through the crowd to the front," she says, turning her attention to me, still dancing. I smile slyly and sip my drink, keeping my eyes glued on her every movement, unable to look away.

I finish my drink and throw the cup away before letting Korra take my hand and pull me towards the crowd of dancing people, all moving in sync. Somehow, in this crowd of hundreds, the only person relevant in my world is the dark-haired girl holding my hand, leading me through people. She's the only focus I can keep as slowly everything, all the rules, and laws including, fall away.

She stops and turns towards me, pulling me closer to her so that we're only inches apart. Carefully she starts moving in tune to the music, and I feel shivers spread through my body from the feeling of her hands gently placing themselves on my hips, directing me to move with her. I allow her to control my movements until I'm dancing with her. Carelessly I place my hands around her neck, causing her eyes to shoot up and meet my gaze. I smile at her slyly, causing her to blush, and at that moment, I know that I'm not the only one feeling this way. She has feelings for me too, and it's taken me so many hints to realize. 

She leans forward, moving her head so her lips are millimeter from my ear.

"Follow my lead," she whispers, causing goosebumps to form. I remember whispering those exact words to her only a week ago. I dance with her, losing myself in the music and the moment, allowing myself to let go of all the worry and stress of being an adult, enjoying the moving bodies of other people letting go all around me. However, my focus remains purely on Korra, who's cerulean eyes stare at me with a depth so deep I feel myself getting lost. Before I notice it, we're much closer to the stage than when we started out. I realize that while I've been following Korra's lead, she's been making her way through the crowd. She must have a lot of practice with crowds like this.

Suddenly there's an announcement, calling Korra's attention from me, making her turn to face the stage, her face lighting up as the MC introduces Ed Sheeran to the stage. I look down sharply as I feel some fingers slide between mine only to see Korra's hand. A small smile plays on my lips. I tighten my grip, and she squeezes in return. I look up and she turns her head to look back at me, a soft smile on her face.

Around us the crowd goes wild, causing us to turn our attention back to the stage. Korra's hand tightens its grip on mine in excitement as a curly red-haired man walks onto the stage, a smile plastered on his face. He waits for the crowd to calm down slightly before speaking, and in no time, he's going straight into his first song.

Throughout the performance, I feel myself watching Korra more then I watch Ed on the stage. She sings every word to each song, a smile of pure bliss and happiness etched on her features.

The light from the stage illuminates the sharp line of her jaw, making clear every detail of her face, of her smile. Her eyes shine like bright stars in a night sky. Slight smudges of dust stirred up from all the dancing are on her cheeks.

The daylight fades away slowly as the music plays on, song to song, and my heart beats faster, every worrying thought and stress filled feeling faded away as I dance with Korra, the feeling of being a carefree eighteen year old controlling my body.

Suddenly a familiar song starts to play, and Korra and I both turn slowly to each other, smiles etching on both our faces. Carefully she moves forward, a sly smile on her face, and her eyes twinkling as she slips her arms around my waist. I can't help but chuckle and give in and wrap my arms around her neck, enjoying her closeness.

Along with the rest of the crowd we sing with Ed, but Korra and I keep our gaze connected, and deep down I know that we're both singing to each other, meaning each lyric.

Everything in me wants to lean forward and kiss her, and I know I would if there wasn't that tiny sensible voice telling me not to.

The song ‘Perfect’ ends, and Korra and I share a mutual, knowing, soft smile before she turns her attention back to the stage. 

After Ed Sheeran finishes his performance and exits the stage, another DJ takes his place, returning to the summer beat of festival music. Korra turns all her attention to me once more, a calm, content smile on her lips and her eyes shining with youth. My heart warms at her happiness. She deserves to feel happy; she deserves this carefree moment we're living in.

I slide my arms around her waist and pull her into me, and she gladly accepts and slips her arms loosely around my neck. I move so I can talk into her ear.

"Did you enjoy that?" I say loudly enough for her to hear me. I pull back and she nods, before moving forward to speak in my ear.

"It's nice to see you let go," I hear her say, and I throw back my head and laugh. Although she's right, it's nice to let go. I feel young, and I have her to thank for that.

My eyes meet hers again, and I notice a darker look to them. She's searching for me with a soft smile on her face, her eyes telling me everything she hasn't said out loud.

As I hold her gaze, I feel my smile fade and my heart rate increase. Slowly the music fades, along with the hundreds of people around us.

She's the only thing that matters, and the magnetic attraction between us becomes stronger until I lose all sense of control and reason.

Finally, that tiny voice inside my head that was telling me not to follow my feelings is silenced.

My hands run up her body until I'm cupping her face. Her smile fades and her eyes search mine, her hands moving to my hips. I can't resist anymore, and I lean in, closing my eyes. Time slows as if we're in a scene from a movie. 

Our lips brush gently before I press mine to hers. She stiffens, her hold on my waist tightening. However, it's not long at all before she responds, pulling me even closer to her. Our heads tilt simultaneously, deepening our kiss, our lips parting.

My arousal from earlier grows, a hunger I didn't even know I had finally being met as Korra and I lock in a desperate embrace, desperate for more, to feel each other in the most intimate of ways, to be closer.

I feel Korra's tongue lick my bottom lip, causing me to shiver and kiss her more aggressively, catching her bottom lip between my teeth and pulling on it gently, causing her grip to tighten on my hips and her hands to them travel up the curve of my waist, moving my shirt up, causing goosebumps from where her hands graze my bare skin.

My one hand moves down to gently cup her jaw while the other snakes its way around to the back of her head, my fingers digging into her hair. My tongue licks across her lip before meeting her tongue. Unlike a man’s kiss, she is gentle yet playful, soft, and sensual.

Slowly I pull away, my forehead resting on hers, my eyes open. Her eyes remain closed for a few seconds, and I notice her chest is heaving, her breath shaky. I smirk to myself, satisfied that I am the reason she's out of breath.

My lips tingle, itching for me to presses them against hers again, my skin yearning for her touch. My heart is still racing from the kiss, and when Korra's eyes flutter open my heart skips a beat.

My god, she is so beautiful.

***

Korra's POV

Part of me is in shock. My heart is about to burst out of my chest, and at the same time, my lungs feel frozen, as if I've forgotten how to breathe.

I stare into her eyes, her captivating soft green eyes that are staring back at me, a compassionate yet playful look dancing in them. A gentle smile tugs at her lips, causing goosebumps to form all over my skin. Is it even possible for someone to look so god damn beautiful?

If I were religious at all I'd most definitely believe that Asami is the pure embodiment of a perfect angel, or goddess even.

The other part of me that isn't in shock is trying to make sense of what just happened, trying desperately to process if this is real. If Asami just kissed me.

I study her face, her eyes watching me carefully, staring at me like I'm the only person in the crowd of hundreds. Red, yellow, orange, and white lights flash from the stage, casting Asami's face into a series of different colours.

I've been wanting this moment since the day I met Asami Sato. I've been dreaming, wishing for her to look at me the way she is right now I've been imaging what it would be like to feel her kiss me, and now that I've felt her lips all I want is to kiss her again, to feel her hands on my skin.

My heart races, my chest seizes, and as if I have no control my hands move to cup her face and pull her back to me. I kiss her hard, and she responds with the same passion. Bolts of electricity ignite through my skin from where her fingers touch me as she grabs my hips, flushing her body against mine. Around us people continue to dance, shout and sing, but the only thing on my mind is Asami, and how desperately I want to tear past the clothes that separate us.

The next few hours are a haze of pure happiness, pure bliss. Asami eyes don't leave me for a second, her stare filled with the same lust filled longing that I feel.

I love every second of her lips on mine, of her hands on me, of my hands on her. I love how close she is to me, and how she makes me feel like I'm the only relevant thing worth her time.

I have no time to consider what is happening, to process that Asami is nine years older than me and my teacher. I can't think straight with Asami so close to me, I can't focus with her hands trailing gently over my skin, and somehow, I love not thinking straight. I don't want to think about everything that could go wrong, I don't want to remember that what Asami and I are doing is illegal.

Next thing I know, we are making our way out of the concert with everyone else, and I struggle to believe that the concert is finished already. It doesn't feel like several hours have gone by.

I smile shyly to myself as I look down at my hand, Asami's fingers lightly intertwined with mine as she leads me through the crowd toward the exit of Kew gardens, her wavy raven hair looking unbelievable as it gently waves in a soft breeze.

My lips tingle, and I raise my free hand to trace them, my cheeks tinting as it really hits me that the woman I've been falling for just kissed me. Asami kissed me, and I kissed her back. The way she looked at me must mean that she too has feelings, feelings for me... and that realization makes my chest want to explode.

Soon we're walking on the sidewalk toward the nearest train station, our hands still intertwined. I can't keep my eyes off of her.

Part of my brain is buzzing with questions, but the other part of my brain is too in awe of the woman holding my hand. There's also a corner of my mind that is shaking in anticipation. What now?

I'm definitely turned on. In fact, I don't think I've ever been more turned on. Did that kiss make her feel the same way? Are we... are we going to go further?

Asami slows down so that she is no longer leading me, instead, she's now walking beside me. We haven't spoken a word since before our first kiss. We didn't need to. But now there's no music, just silence. The only people around us are a few small groups and couples making their way slowly to the train station.

Asami turns her head and glances at me, a smile flittering across her lips and her cheeks turning pink as she sees that I'm staring at her. I can't help but smile shyly.

We're both startled suddenly at the sharp sound of a phone ringing, and Asami looks away and pats herself down to find the source of the noise.

"Hello?" Asami answers her phone when she finds it, her voice somewhat shaky. Her hand pulls away from mine, and my heart sinks. I try to listen to what the other person is saying on the opposite end of the call, but I have no luck.

"Yeah the concert what good," Asami answers before listening for several more seconds.

"Umm yeah let me just ask her," she says before lowering the phone and asking me, "apparently Bo and Opal are going back to the penthouse… she wants to know if you want to stay at our apartment… you can use her room..."

She does meet my eyes when she looks at me, and my heart sinks further. I get the feeling that she's suddenly realized what just happened at the concert and has started to regret it.

"Yeah, I'll stay at yours tonight... if that's okay with you?" I say carefully. She nods and puts her phone back to her ear.

"Yeah, have fun. Be safe," she says.

"Goodnight, see you tomorrow," she ends the call and returns her phone to her bag.

The remaining walk to the train station is spent in silence. Awkward silence, which I hate. Asami walks at a respectful distance from me now, not looking at me or saying a word, and I can tell she's extremely busy in her own thoughts. I want to say something, but I'm not sure what to say.

Does she regret kissing me? Well I can't blame her, I'm not even sure why she kissed me in the first place... maybe she was just caught up in the moment?

In the same silence, we enter the train station and make our way to the correct train. I glance at the screen telling us when the next train is coming. 6 minutes.

We wait in silence for a few moments before I can't take it anymore.

"I can go home, I don't have to stay over if it's going to make you feel uncomfortable," I blurt out, making her look at me for the first time since the phone call.

"No, it's fine," she says stiffly, looking away again, averting her eyes to the floor. I purse my lips and nod to myself.

After what feels like hours the train finally arrives and we step into a practically empty carriage. She takes a seat and I sit down opposite her, watching her carefully as she stares into her lap and fiddles with her hands.

There are only two other people in our carriage, two rather drunk people making out on the opposite end, completely oblivious of us. I look over at Asami again and bite my lips anxiously.

I don't blame her for regretting the events that took place at the festival. What we did could get her fired, and much worse. I'm a minor, it's illegal, she could be sent to jail and it would be put on her criminal record and ruin her career and reputation. 

The train finally comes to its fifth stop, and the drunk couple stumbles off the train, giggling wildly. Five stops down, six to go. The doors slide closed and the train lurches forward again.

Asami and I have gotten really close… she's become rather important to me in the past week, and she's the first person in ten months that has made me feel safe. She's the first and only person since I lost my family that I have truly trusted, that I've properly opened up too. I don't want to lose her, I don't want her to just be my teacher, and I sure as hell don't want to just be another one of her students.

I know that I need to somehow assure her that everything is okay, that I don't expect anything more than a friendship from her, that I'll never tell a soul about what happened at the concert and I'll never mention it again to her either. We can forget what happened if that's what's needed for us to maintain that bond we've formed.

I put a gentle, reassuring smile on my face and move my leg forward so that my foot can nudge hers, causing her to look up at me. I can see she's panicky and anxious now that she's realized what happened between us, and the effects it can have on her life.

Slowly I stand and walk a few steps over to one of the holding poles for sanding passengers during rush hour. Her eyes stay glued to me, watching my every move. She looks more vulnerable than I've ever seen her.

I used to have a friend who did pole dancing a few years ago, and she taught me a few simple and basic moves. So, using the pole, I slowly start dancing, nothing to fancy. I keep eye contact with her. At first, my plan had been just to lighten the mood, to reassure her that everything's okay. However, I notice Asami's eyes begin to darken, her face becomes hard to read.

The train comes to another stop, its doors sliding open to an empty station and I end my dance with my back against the pole, my head tilted against it, my gaze still locked with Asami's.

Silently we stare at each other, sharing a clearly mutual intimate feeling.

The doors slide closed and the trains starts up its journey again.

Slowly she stands, and I watch her carefully. I've never seen this look on her face before, and in some ways it's intimidating.

She approaches me gracefully and carefully, and when she reaches me, she raises a hand to my chest. Her hand touches me right between my breasts, and her eyes remaining locked with mine the entire time as she pushes me back.

It's as if I lose control of myself, her intoxicating effect causing me to follow her lead.

Slowly I walk back a few steps before my legs hit a chair and I sit down heavily. She moves quickly, almost aggressively as she straddles me, causing my breath to catch in my throat.

Her hand slides up from its place on my chest to my jaw, tilting my face up towards her before finding its way to my neck, her fingers wrapping around it gently, not in a chocking or strangling way, more in a way to tell me without words that she's in control.

Her dominance is beyond sexy, and to say that I'm turned on in a massive understatement.

I let out a shaky breath, causing a sly smile to form on her lips. She knows the effect she has on me and she knows that she's driving me crazy.

I'm used to being the one on top, I'm almost always the dominant one, and part of me wants some control. I move my hands onto her thighs, gently letting my nails scrape her skin, and to my satisfaction, I feel her shiver under my touch.

She dips down and brushes her lips on mine while simultaneously grinding against my lap. Involuntarily I let out a quiet moan and my nails dig into her thighs. I feel her smile against my skin as she kisses along my cheek until she reaches my ear. I feel her tongue against my jaw and shivers run all over my body as she uses her hand on my neck to tilt my head to the side before she kisses down my neck.

I bite my lip to suppress more moans, my arousal going off the charts. I run my hands further up her unfairly smooth thighs until I reach her shorts.

She leaves lingering, slow kisses back up my neck before roughly directing me to face her. For a moment we hold eye contact, and I note how considerably darker her eyes are with lust.

I close the gap between us and kiss her, smiling as I feel her kiss me back immediately. At first, our kiss is hungry, desperate, but slowly my hands move around her waist, pulling her as close to me as I can and she moves both her arms around my neck, arching her body towards me. Our kiss slows and becomes passionate until eventually she pulls away and rests her forehead against mine.

I watch her take shaky breaths with her eyes closed. After a few long moments, she opens her eyes and holds my gaze for a little while. I open my mouth to say something, but she presses her forefinger against my lips and silences me. She keeps her finger pressed against my lips for a few seconds before moving her hand slowly over my cheek, caressing my face softly. I smile lean gently into her hand, making her smile that heart racing soft smile.

The train comes to another stop, and the announcement plays overhead. One more stop until ours.

I move forwards and tilt my head gently until my lips are brushing Asami’s, my hands move down and over her ass and I feel her smile against my lips.

"I want you," I whisper, causing her to let out a soft groan.

"You're irresistible Korra Waters," she whispers back sensually, making me bite my lip at her words. I move my lips to her neck and gently kiss her skin, inhaling her captivating perfume. She lets out a moan as she tilts her head back, her nails scratching gently on my shoulder. Softly I let my teeth drag against her skin, biting teasingly and enjoying her quiet moans and her small involuntary hip movements as she grinds against me. I can feel the space between my legs becoming wetter and hungrier for her touch by the second.

The train comes to our last stop and Asami climbs off me, her hand taking mine and pulling me to my feet. We exit the train and then the train station before crossing the road and entering her apartment building.

With each step, I feel the anticipation build inside me. I can't believe this is happening, I never thought that Asami Sato, my English teacher and the woman I've been falling for, would be leading me up to her apartment.

We step into the elevator and as soon as the doors close, we turn to each other and quickly I'm shoved against the wall, her hands on my hips and her lips pressed against mine, kissing me hungrily. I cup her face and kiss her back passionately.

The air between us crackles with sexual electricity and tension, and when the elevator doors open on her floor, I've already started unbuttoning her shorts.

She pushes me backwards out of the elevator and towards her apartment door, fumbling for her keys. I bite and suck at her neck more aggressively as she unlocks the apartment door, causing it to swing open and for us to fall inside. She kicks the door closed with her foot and throws her bag and keys to the side before immediately pulling me back to her and kissing me deeply while directing me backwards towards her bedroom.

Between the front door and her bedroom, we lose a lot of clothing items, undressing each other desperately. By the time we've reached her bed we're left only in our underwear, well she's in her bra and panties while I'm left only in my panties, considering my bra was stitched into my shirt.

She pushes me onto her bed so that I'm sitting, and before she can straddle me, I rest my hands on her hips, stopping her. I look up into her eyes, scanning her body as I do so, completely in awe.

The only light is the moonlight from a full moon outside that shines through a high up window, and the light casts her face into an angelic shadow, illuminating all of her perfect curves and lines.

As she watches me with interest, waiting for my reaction, she moves a hand and gently tucks a stray hair behind my ear, an action that sends Cupid's arrows flying into my heart.

My eyes move down to her stomach and I pull her closer while leaning in, laying a soft kiss just above her belly button. Both her hands tangle themselves in my hair as I continue to kiss her stomach upwards until I'm kissing between her breasts.

She pulls my face away and shoves me back so that I'm lying on my back. I crawl back until I'm lying with my head on her pillows, keeping my eyes on her the whole time, watching her slowly, tauntingly unclip her bra and let it slide off her shoulders and hit the floor. With even more grace and elegance, she slides off her underwear and slowly climbs onto the bed.

She crawls up to me, each move is elegant, teasing. She climbs on top of me, connecting our lips while my hands travel up her thighs.

The next few hours are something I'll never forget. I don't see how it would be possible to forget that night.

I had had sex before, with guys and my fair share of other girls, but nothing could and would ever match up to how Asami made me feel. Every touch sent shocks of electricity through me, and every kiss left a trail of goosebumps.

I'm not sure how many times she sent me over the edge, and I wasn't even keeping track of how many orgasms I gave her, and try as I might, I wouldn't remember the next day when it was exactly that we fell asleep. All I know is that being with her was better than being with anyone else, and the way she made me feel was the only real reason worth living for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the story thus far. I plan to get the rest of this story out within the next 2 weeks. I've already written the entire story, it's just a matter of editing and proofreading that takes a while. 
> 
> Lastly, thanks to everyone that left positive feedback, I really appreciate it!


	18. Chapter 18

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 18  
\--  
Korra's POV

My body clock wakes me at 7 a.m., and I know it's 7 a.m. because when I open my eyes, the first thing I see is an alarm clock displaying the time. It takes a few moments for me to wake up properly, and when I do, I realize that I'm in an unfamiliar room. It takes me a further few moments to remember the events of last night.

It all seems way too good to be true. The first kiss at the concert, the train, the elevator, Asami's apartment, her room...

My eyes snap wide open and I freeze as it all comes rushing back to me. I slept with Asami. I just slept with my fucking English teacher. 

I try to turn around but there's a body pressed against my back. Carefully, so that I don't wake the person spooning me, I lift the blanket and look down. Indeed, I am naked, and an arm is wrapped loosely around my waist. A shy smile spreads to my lips and I settle back down, my heart racing.

I'm suddenly very aware of the soft breaths of the beautiful woman behind me gently tickling the back of my neck I stay still for a while, enjoying the feeling of Asami holding me while she sleeps, her body fitting perfectly against mine.

I replay the events of last night, although it all still feels like a dream.

Finally, I have time to answer all the questions that have built up inside my head, now I have the time to process everything.

My main question is why did Asami kiss me... I'm so much younger than her, I'm her student and she's way out of my league. I had her pegged as the type who prefers to date older guys and women.

Does this mean she has feelings for me? Or was it in the spur of the moment thing... 

What does this all mean now? What happens now? Will something start up between us or will we both forget everything and resume a normal teacher-student relationship…

Last night when Opal called, it had pulled Asami back to reality, and for a few moments it was as if she regretted everything... and we had only kissed. Now we've slept together, something much more serious. What happens when she wakes? Will she realize what's happened and regret everything? Will the friendship and bond between us end?

Just as I'm really starting to try to make sense of everything, I feel Asami stir behind me, her arm retracting from my waist. I turn to see her blinking, waking up. My heart beats faster in panic. Now for the moment of truth, will she run or will she stay…

I watch carefully as Asami wakes up. She seems to be in the same situation I was in when I first woke up, and when she realizes I'm the one she woke up holding she pulls herself into a sitting position, lifting the blankets to check if she is naked. Her eyes close and her fingers find her temples, massaging them.

Slowly she turns and pulls herself to the edge of the bed, swinging her legs over. She hunches over and places her face in her hands. I pull myself into a sitting position and watch her, not sure what I should do in this situation.

I watch her stand and make her way over to her closet and pick out a pair of underwear and slowly pull them on, obviously deep in thought.

Part of me scans her curves, unable to look away. She still is, after all, the most beautiful person I've ever set eyes on.

She doesn't look at me once as she pulls on a long sleeve loose, white button-up T-shirt, and my heart sinks. 

"I...I think you should get dressed," she says quietly, her voice trembling and her back still turned to me. She exits the room before I can say anything.

I sigh, feeling extremely anxious and worried. I don't want to lose Asami, she's the best thing that's happened to me since I lost my family. I don't want things to be awkward between us, I don't want to just have to pretend that nothing happened and go back to her being my teacher and me being one of her students.

I crawl out of bed and find my underwear, pulling them on. I notice my tog bag from yesterday in the corner on the room, and I assume Opal put it there before she went on her date with Bo.

I dig in the bag and find a bra and a shirt, both of which I pull on, along with a pair of jeans. I stare at my reflection in Asami's mirror, makeup slightly smudged. I use my fingers to fix it and run my hands through my hair, attempting to rid any bed hair.

My eyes spot a red mark on the side of my neck, and I frown and step closer to the mirror to examine it. I also notice several more red and sometimes even purple marks leading under my collar and when I pull my shirt down I realize they run all the way to my breasts, scattered over my skin. A smile flickers across my lips as I realize what the marks are; Hickies.

I have hickies from my teacher.

My smile falls when I remember the situation. I do have hickies from my teacher, but it's not a good thing.

I take a deep breath and walk out Asami's room and make my way towards the kitchen. My eyes fall on Asami, who is sitting at the kitchen counter, her elbows on the surface, and her head in her hands.

I remain quiet for a few moments, studying her. Even like this, as distraught and hopeless as she looks, she is still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, and my heart races.

My eyes move to her fingers, which just hours ago had been trailing all over my skin, finding their way between my legs and causing me more pleasure then I have ever felt before.

My heart speeds up at the memory, my stomach doing nervous flips.

I fight the urge to walk over to her and kiss her, hold her... just like how any other couple would do after a night like we just had.

She looks up suddenly as if she sensed my presence. My heart skips a beat at the sight of her face, her eyes… her lips…

My eyes flicker to her neck and collar bone, along with part of her bare chest that shows. Dark patches show here and there on her skin, and I blush. Looks like I'm not the only one with love bites on my skin.

My eyes move back to meet hers, and I try and fail, to read her expression.

"I think we need to talk," she says finally, looking down at her hands which now lie in her lap. I nod and take a seat across from her. There's silence for a few moments, and I can tell that Asami is trying to find her words, not sure how to start this conversation. I feel a pang in my heart, suddenly feeling extremely guilty, after all, I am at fault here. I'm the reason her job, and basically her whole life is at stake.

"Asami," I say quietly, causing her to look up at me, her soft green eyes wrought with worry and hopelessness, “I'm... I'm sorry."

She shakes her head, "you have nothing to be sorry for," she says, "I'm the adult here. I shouldn't have let any of this happen. I should be the one apologizing to you."

"It takes two to tango," I cut in, not believing that she thinks she can take all the blame. She studies me for several long moments before sighing and shaking her head at herself, staring at her hands again.

"It's going to be okay," I say softly, trying to comfort her in some way.

She looks up sharply at my words and surprises me by laughing, however her laugh is bitter, almost sarcastic.

"Okay? Nothing about this is okay!" As she speaks her voice grows louder and she stands, pacing back and forth, running her hand through her hair anxiously, "I just slept with my student! Do you know how wrong that is?!? I could get fired! Lose my job and any chance of getting a decent job in the future! It would go on my criminal record because not only are you my student but you're also underage! I could get sent to jail. It would ruin Kyoshi Academy's reputation!"

I wince as I listen to her talk, feeling worse and worse for allowing this situation to happen. She's right, and I'm too blame. I ruined whatever friendship we had built and if anyone finds out about what happened between us it would ruin her life.

"I know, I'm aware of the consequences Asami," I say softly, hoping that if I keep calm it will help her to keep calm.

She sighs and places her hands on the counter, hanging her head. "I don't know what I was thinking,” she says quietly.

"I don't think either of us was thinking," I say, making her look up at me again. She looked at a loss, and I can tell that she is way passed stressed.

"That doesn't change the fact that last night shouldn't have happened," she says, and I feel a painful stab in my heart. Even though I know her words are true, and that she's completely right, it still hurts. Last night was priceless, unforgettable. It was probably the most special and incredible thing that has ever happened to me.

Asami must've noticed the look of hurt cross my features because her eyes soften for a moment as if she can read my thoughts.

"Do... do you regret it?" I ask after a pause. The question must've caught her off guard because she stiffens.

"What?" She asks although I know she heard me.

"Do you regret it?" I repeat more firmly now. I have to know if last night meant something to her, or if it really just is a mistake in her eyes.

"I-” She starts to say after another pause. Suddenly she breaks, and for a moment I think she might cry.

"Ï should," she whispers, looking down, "I should regret it."

I get up from my seat and cross over to her, but before I can reach out to touch her, she steps back. I feel a sting in my chest, but I can't blame her. There's a lot at stake for her, and her mind is probably a very busy place of thoughts right now.

"I'm... I'm going to go," I say quietly, "I think you need some time to yourself to think."

She looks up at me and a small grateful smile crosses her lips. "I think that would be best," she says, and I nod.

Quickly I fetch my bags and leave, my gaze lingering on the beautiful raven-haired woman one last time before I shut the door.

I turn and make my way down the passage to the elevator, pressing the down button and wait for it to arrive. My mind racing with confused thoughts, and my heart starting to ache. I feel the uneasy fear of the possibility of losing Asami, and it scares me.

The elevator arrives and dings open, and I'm taken by surprise by an ecstatic dark-haired woman who I immediately recognize as Opal. She beams when she sees me, and I try to quickly recover from my mood and smile back at her.

"Korra! Leaving so soon?" She says stepping out and giving me a hug.

"Yeah," is all I can say, and I feel myself panicking as I notice her eyes glance to my neck, an eyebrow lifting in curiosity. Gratefully she doesn't ask any questions and pretends she didn't notice.

"How was the concert?" She asks. I had practically forgotten all about the concert. Next to everything else that happened, the music festival all seems rather pointless and small.

"Uh it was really great," I say, giving her a wide smile, "how was your date?"

"Different then I thought it would be... but definitely a good different, not what I was expecting," she says, and I grin.

"I'll let you know what he says to me about you," I say, and she laughs.

"Thanks, doll," she chuckles, "get home safely! Hopefully, I'll be seeing more of you."

"Thanks, Opal," I say, stepping into the lift and watching her walk to her apartment through the closing metal doors.

Suddenly I remember that Asami also has hickies all over her neck, and no pants on... that's gotta look suspicious... fuck, I curse in my head, wishing there was some way I could warn Asami.

Then again, Opal is her best friend and roommate, she would piece things together eventually even if Asami didn't tell her.

***

Asami's POV

I stare at the door as soon as it closes, immediately feeling Korra's absence.

The memory of her lips on my skin still lingers, and my lips still tingle and ache for her.

What is going on with me? Is a question that keeps repeating itself in my head.

I don't think I've ever lusted for someone so badly in my twenty-six years of existence. I've never craved someone's touch and presence so deeply before.

Last night I don't know what got into me, but I lost control, something that has never happened to me before.

Even now I find myself fighting the urge to rush out the door and call Korra back, tell her how she makes me feel, ask her if she feels the same way...

Suddenly the door swings open again, and my familiar dark-haired roommate walks through the door.

Her eyes find me, and she starts to smile but stops halfway, and I notice her eyes move to my bare legs and then up and they linger on my chest and neck. She shuts the door slowly.

Shit, I think to myself, realizing why she suddenly looks so serious. It's pretty weird and suspicious for a teacher to be in such revealing clothing, especially just after her student walks out the door.

"Asami…" she says slowly, corning closer, her eyes still scanning my neck, "why the fuck do you have hickies?"

Fuck.

"Uhh," I begin, already knowing that there's no way I'm getting out of this mess. She pushes past me and walks straight to her room, which of course has been untouched. She turns slowly and stares at me.

"I'm going to ask again, why do you have hickies?"

My mouth opens but I shut it again, pursing my lips and groaning to myself.

"Did you... oh my god I can't believe I'm asking this but... did you sleep with...?" She doesn't even have to finish the question and I don't even have to answer. Her eyes shoot open wide.

"YOU SLEPT WITH KORRA?" She shouts, making me wince.

"No, I didn't," I try to lie, but she just rolls her eyes.

"Either you managed to hook up with someone last night that wasn't Korra, which I'm sure you didn't because you don't do hookups with random people, AND Korra is amazing at making beds, OR YOU SLEPT WITH YOUR STUDENT! And don't you lie to me again because I saw the hickies on her neck," she says, and I sigh, knowing that it's too late for me to make up another story.

"I knew there was something going on between you two," she snorts, collapsing on the couch. I sit down too, not sure what to say. There's too much going on in my mind for me to string any words together to make a sentence.

"How long has this been going on for?" She asks, dumbfounded.

"I don't know," I say after a few moments, "until yesterday we hadn't even kissed…"

"So last night was your guys' first-timer?” She asks, raising an eyebrow.

"And our last time," I say, staring at my hands, "I don't even know how it happened… how I let it happen... but it can't happen again."

"So, neither of you intended on sleeping together?" She asks, frowning.

"No, it just… happened..." I say, still confused about it myself.

"Do you like her?" She asks after a pause. I look up at her, chewing the inside of my cheek. She's known me long enough to know my answer without me needing to say anything.

"Shit Asami," she sighs, and I nod.

"I mean, your student?" She says, and I sigh yet again.

"I know, it's bad, I never thought I'd be in this situation..." I say, fiddling with a button on my shirt.

"You can't choose who you do or don't have feelings for," She says as I bury my face in my hands. We sit in silence for a little while, and I can tell she's still processing everything.

"Someone nine years younger than you as well... this definitely is not you," she says, making me look back up at her, "she really must be something special."

"She is," I say, which makes Opal smile lightly, and I know she's smiling because it's not often that I speak about someone the way I speak about Korra.

"What does she say? About this," she asks.

"She understands that it shouldn't have happened, that it was wrong. You've met her, she's very mature. She left because she knew I needed time to think,” I say, and Opal nods.

“What’s going to happen now?” Opal asks the exact question I’m still trying to figure out myself.

“I’m not sure yet,” I say, biting my lip anxiously.

“Well I’m here if you need to talk,” she says, leaning over and placing a hand over mine.

“Thank you,” I say, giving her a grateful smile, “for being so understanding as always.”

“Of course,” she says, “you know I’ll never judge you, but I care about you a lot. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

I nod, understanding what she means. She doesn’t want me to go to jail and get myself in trouble, which is exactly what will happen if anyone finds it about Korra and me.

“How was your date?” I change the subject. She gives me a skeptical look before deciding that I changed the topic for a distraction, and she jumps right into all the gory details of her date with Bolin.

I try to listen as much as I can, but there’s too much noise in my head to let me pay all my attention.

I need to get my ducks in a row.


	19. Chapter 19

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 19  
\--  
Korra's POV

The last week of the holiday drags by. I spend my time either wandering around London, finishing any holiday homework, practicing my guitar and songs and when I have nothing better to do, I work out.

However, the entire time, every second of every day, I think of Asami.

Several times, I've had to hide my phone from myself to stop myself from calling her or texting her.

I must have typed and deleted a hundred messages telling her I missed her, how I felt, how I needed her… but I knew it would be selfish of me to send them.

Now it's Saturday, exactly a week after the concert, and I'm sitting in Hyde Park. I have to say that my favorite thing about London is how many parks there are, and how clean they're kept.

Jinora and Yue have been texting me every day and calling me every other day. It's sweet, and I have to say I enjoy having friends that care.

I set my phone down next to me on the grass and pick up my book, opening it to the page I left off at.

But just as I started reading, something catches my eye. A runner.

Now I know that's not rare in Hyde park, but it was like I immediately knew who it was and time slowed as I looked up, my eyes widening as I saw Asami, completely unexpected, wearing Nike running tights, running shoes, and a tank top, her hair tied up in a high pony and earphones in her ears.

Even though she is glistening with sweat and has no makeup on, she is way too perfect and eye-catching to be real.

All I can do is stare with wide eyes and my mouth hanging open.

I hadn't expected to see her until tomorrow afternoon when we go back to school, but here she is.

Somehow it felt more like fate then a coincidence, I mean out of all the parks and out of all the space in this massive park, Asami and I just happen to cross paths.

She hasn't noticed me yet and keeps on running, me staring after her like a gapping goldfish.

I snap back to reality, grabbing my phone and bag off the floor while scrambling to my feet. I sprint after her, not quite knowing why or having any idea what I'm going to say to her.

My hand lands on her arms, and she spins around causing me to collide into her, her hands landing on my hips to steady the both of us.

"What the-" She begins to say before she realizes who I am. Her eyes open wider in shock, her eyebrows jerking upwards.

Quickly I step away, feeling my face flush with embarrassment. She recovers from her uncial shock, although she's still surprised.

"Sorry," I mutter, trying to decide why exactly I thought it would be a good idea to stop her.

"Korra," She breaths out, her eyes scanning me as she slowly pulls her earbuds out her ears and wraps her earphones around her phone.

"Hey," I say, feeling awkward.

"What are you doing here?" She asks, obviously still caught off guard.

"I was reading, and I saw you... I honestly don't know why I stopped you," I say, scratching the back of my head, "I guess… I guess I want to talk."

She stays quiet for a moment, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Korra I don't think that's a good idea-" She begins to say, but I cut her short.

"You do know that we have to talk about what happened sooner or later," I say, to which she purses her lips and looks around.

"I don't think right now is a good time," she says, turning her gaze back to me.

"Then when will be a good time? Tomorrow we go back to school, and I'm assuming you don't want to talk then because it would be too risky. Someone could overhear us or something," I say, unwilling letting frustration overtake my tone, "and I'm not happy with having to sit in your classroom pretending you're nothing more to me than my teacher and that nothing happened between us."

She sighs and looks around again. I know that I have a point, and I can see that she's considering what I've just said.

"Fine," she mutters and starts walking to a bench under a tree that's not in earshot of anyone else. Feeling satisfied I follow, my heart hammering in my chest as my brain rushes to figure out what it is exactly that I want to say to her.

"So," She says as she takes a seat at the one end of the bench, "what is it you wanted to talk about?"

I roll my eyes at her as I take a seat on the other end, turning to face her.

"I think it's pretty obvious what I wanted to talk about," I snort and a notice a small smile plays across her face.

"I meant where do you want to start?" She says.

"Oh..." I say while thinking where do I want to start? "Well,” I say carefully, "what did that night mean to you?"

Her lips purse at the question, and I can see that she's thinking very carefully about her answer.

"What did it mean to you?" She says dodging the question. I sigh, I knew it wasn't going to be easy to get her to open up. Instead of making her answer the question first, I decide to answer, maybe it'll make her more comfortable to tell me the truth then.

"It meant a lot," I say, quietly, "I've slept with my fair share of people… but that was different, it felt..."

I look up at her, not sure how to finish my sentence. Her eyes have turned soft, and she's looking at me with that same look she gave me at the concert. She looks down, and I study her, waiting for her to say something.

“That night meant something to me too," She says finally, looking back up at me, "as much as I'd like to deny it."

My breath catches in my throat and I stiffen. Did she just… did she just admit that she has feelings for me?

"Was it… was it in the moment kind of thing?" I ask finally, my heart racing. I can't believe I'm having this conversation with my teacher.

"In a way, it was," She nods, "but... and I cannot believe I'm saying this, I can't deny that I hadn't been wanting it to happen even before the concert."

My mouth hangs open and I stare at her like a goldfish.

After a few moments, a smile spreads across her face and she chuckles.

"Shut your mouth, you'll catch flies," She says, leaning over and closing my jaw with her hand before leaning back again.

"I'm sorry, come again?" I manage. She rolls her eyes. "You heard me the first time."

"Did… do you have… feelings for me?" I finally manage to ask, and she looks at me sharply.

"I think you know the answer to that question," she says quietly after a pause. I stare at her for several long moments, not believing the words that had just come out of her mouth.

"Since when?" I sputter.

"It doesn't matter Korra," she sighs, scanning the park around us.

"It does to me," I say, watching her bite her lip as her eyebrows furrow.

"I guess after the art convention," she finally starts to speak, still looking off into the distance, "when I first saw you in that black dress I didn't recognize you... you stood out like a lone rose on an empty bush and I couldn't look away. After that, it was hard to see you as a seventeen-year-old girl who happens to be a student of mine."

"Holy shit," I mutter, making her look at me.

"But like I said," she sighs, "it doesn't matter."

"I don't think you understand how much that matters to me," I say, shaking my head, still awestruck by her words, "I've had feelings for you since the first day I met you."

A small smile flickers at the corners of her lips, and a light blush appears on her cheeks. Then her smile fades as she remembers our situation, and she looks down at her hands.

"Asami," I say softly, reaching over and placing a hand over hers, making her look up at me again, "I don't want to lose you."

She bites her lip, and I notice her eyes glisten. Her hand turns upwards and her fingers weave between mine, making butterflies erupt in my stomach.

"Korra," she whispers, and I can see how hurt and sad she is, which breaks my heart a little, "we can't... we can't be together, you know that right?"

I nod slowly, looking down.

"And I-we, we can't spend time like we have together anymore, I think we both know what will happen if we do," She says, and I feel a hand wrap around my heart and squeeze it. I know that she’s right, but it doesn't stop it from hurting.

"What about at school?" I ask softly, retracting my hand. "I'm trusting you haven't told anyone," she says.

"And I won't tell anyone," I say, nodding.

"Thank you," She says, but I can't meet her gaze. I'm trying far too hard to keep the tears at bay. I don't know why I let myself get my hopes up, deep down I knew that our relationship could never go back to how it was.

"At school, I'll be your teacher, you'll be my student," She says, and those are the words that cause my tears to fall. Even though I'm looking down she notices and immediately she moves closer, placing a hand under my chin and tilting my head up to look at her.

"Korra…" she whispers, and I can see the guilt on her face. I know it was hard for her too, to say the things she just said. She knows how hard it is for me to let someone in, to let them get close to me, and now we are going to have to keep our distance from each other. With the feelings we have, we wouldn't be able to maintain a friendship. She knows that. I know it.

"It's okay," I say, standing up and grabbing my things, my hand moving quickly to wipe away any tears that had escaped.

"I'll see you at school," I say quietly, not able to look at her.

"Korra," she tries again, her voice breaking.

"Goodbye Miss Sato," I say, before walking away and not looking back.

I don't blame her for what she said, I know that if we try to go back to being friends and spending time together one thing will lead to another and we'll end up in the same situation that we did after the festival.

And it's not like we'd be able to have a relationship. There's too much at stake for her, and I don't expect her to risk her life just to be with me.

What type of relationship would we have anyways? We wouldn't be able to go out in public, to go on dates and how would we manage at school?

The best thing for both of us to do is keep our distance from each other, keep our contact to a minimum. Hopefully, we'll lose feelings and things will become easier, however, I know that's not going to happen, at least for me it won't.

The feelings I have towards Asami burn like wildfire, they’re stronger than I've ever had for anyone.

What hurts the most is I don't know who to turn to anymore. Who do I talk to when I feel myself spiral down in the memories of the accident? Who do I turn to when I feel lost and hopeless?

I realize the tears are running freely now, and I look down, wiping my face with my hands.

The hand around my heart tightens, making it harder to breathe, and I have to dig my nails into my palm to stop myself from crying more.

It has been a while since I've felt this type of pain, and I hate it. I hate the memories that come with it.

***

Asami's POV

Letting Korra walk away is definitely not easy. All I want to do is run after her and hold her, tell her that everything will be okay.

I feel terrible. I know how hard it is for her to open up, to let someone close to her. She trusted me, told me things that she hadn't told anyone, and now I just told her that we couldn't be close anymore.

I know she understands why our friendship can never be the same again, not after we crossed that line. I know she's mature enough to understand why we couldn't ever have a relationship either, how I would be putting my entire career and reputation on the line.

I hated seeing the pain in her eyes, and I hate that I made her cry. After everything she's been through, she needs someone who can be there for her through thick and thin, and I can’t be that someone for her, as much as I'd like to be. Not right now at least, not with the situation we're in.

I'm her teacher, and the type of relationship we've built between each other during these past two weeks is in no way professional, especially after what happened exactly a week ago.

I know that letting her walk away is for the best. I know that the best thing to do right now is to maintain distance between each other and to act the way that a teacher and student should act towards each other. Korra deserves to be in a relationship with someone her own age, someone who can be there for her publicly and privately, someone who can care for her and be there for her without it being against any rules or laws.

All can hope is that she finds that someone so she won't have to deal with everything by herself, even though deep down I wish I could be that someone.

I sigh and massage my temples, closing my eyes. I can't believe I've fallen so fast and so hard for Korra, especially considering our situation. How and when did this happen?

This next term is going to be very hard, what with Korra taking two subjects with me and being in my house and being one of the lead characters in a play I'm helping to direct.

I take a deep breath and open my eyes, unraveling my earphones from my phone and put them back in my ears and press play. I force myself back onto my feet and continue running, trying hard to press back the painful feeling in my heart.

I'll manage. I have to be strong for both Korra and I. Keeping the distance between us is going to be hard but it's the right decision.

I won't ignore her, but I’ll have to treat her like I treat any other student, even if it's going to feel strange for a while. Hopefully, things will become normal and this whole thing will blow over...

Although, I get the sense that these feelings I have for Korra are going to be a lot harder to get over than I hope.

***

"How was your run?" Opal's voice calls to me from the kitchen as I unlock our apartment door and enter.

"Tiring," I answer absentmindedly, my thoughts still circling around Korra.

"Mini-you is here by the way. She's in your room," Opal says, walking out of the kitchen with a glass of fresh juice in her hand, which she hands to me. I wince as I take the glass.

"Is she still mad?" I sigh, sipping the juice.

"She's just concerned Asami," Opal says, touching my arm gently, "she's your sister, it's her job."

"We've never fought like that before," I sigh again, referring to the yelling match I had with Mai a few days previous. I had called her over and told her about the night I had with Korra, and she had freaked out. Things quickly escalated, and soon Opal had to intervene and force us to go separate ways to calm down.

"You are sisters," she chuckles, "you'll get over it."

I give her a smile, which she returns before pushing me in the direction of my bedroom and slapping my ass as she does.

"Now go be a grown-up and makeup with your sibling," she commands, and I laugh and shake my head.

When I enter my room, I find Mai staring out my window with her back to me and her arms crossed over her midsection.

I shut the door slowly, the noise-making her turn her head slightly.

"Hello," I say somewhat stiffly, after all, she did say some harsh things to me. She turns and looks me over before hanging her head and sighing.

"I'm sorry," she says quietly, and I can't help but smile softly. I cross the room to her and pull her into a hug, which she returns.

"I'm sorry too,"

"I don't know why I got so angry," she mutters into my hair and I chuckle.

"If the roles were reversed, I probably would've gotten angry at you too," I say, pulling back from our embrace.

"I just don't want you to lose your job Asami, I don't want you getting hurt," she says, taking my hand in hers.

"I know Mai," I say, sitting down on the bed and indicating for her to do the same, "what I did was reckless and careless, sleeping with my student was a very unprofessional move on my behalf, and it could ruin my life."

"Honestly Sami, that's not the only thing I'm worried about," she mutters, "what if you fall for this girl?"

"I know you care about me," I give her a soft smile, "but I'm a big girl, I can look after myself and live with my own consequences. Immediately after that night, I knew what I had done was wrong and that it couldn't and won't happen again. It was a slip in judgment, I'm allowed to make mistakes my little sister."

"I know… I just freaked out for you," she sighs, looking at her hands.

"I bumped into her today," I say after a pause. Mai looks up sharply, and I quickly continue, "at Hyde Park while I was running, we bumped into each other. We had a talk, about that night. We came to an agreement that whatever friendship we had built before can't go on, and we must maintain and strictly Teacher-Student relationship."

"And she won't tell anyone? About what happened?" Mai asks.

"She's mature, as I've told you before. She was... understanding of the situation," I say, looking at my lap, thinking about the talk I had with Korra earlier, "I trust her. She won't tell anyone."

"And your feelings for her?" She asks hesitantly. I bite my lip as I think about the question, mulling over an answer.

"I'm a grown woman," I chuckle bitterly, "I can control myself."

"I'm sorry Asami," Mai says, and I can see the sympathy in her eyes. "It's alright," I say, putting on a smile.

I look around my room and see the half-packed suitcase and sigh. "I'll help you," Mai laughs, and I cast her a grateful smile.

***

"Alright that's enough girls, quiet down," I call for attention as the time comes for me to commence my fourth hour English class. Immediately the chatter and talk fades away until there are only three girls that continue with their conversation. I sigh as my eyes fall on the group of girls, the usual three troublemakers.

"P’Li, Ming-Hua, and Ginger, do you have something to share with the group?" I ask dangerously, my temper already balancing on a knifes edge. The three girls turn their heads to look at me, and P’Li's smug look that clearly stated she was looking for trouble faults as she realizes I am in no mood to put up with any form of misbehavior and backchat.

"No Miss," she says quietly, facing forward.

"Then let's begin," I shake myself and continue with the day’s agenda for my year 11s.

So far, the term has not gotten off to a good start. Misses Hou-Ting had lectured both Bumi and I about making sure the play would be top-notch because part of the royal family had been invited and she did not want to be embarrassed. The pressure is on me and Bumi to ensure our play turns out to be perfect.

Despite my best hopes I hadn't been able to stop myself from looking for Korra in the crowd of arriving girls on Sunday, and I'd gotten even more frustrated with myself when I'd felt disappointed when I hadn't been able to spot her. Even considering everything that had happened between us I still found myself wanting to see her.

I had managed to see her from a distance at dinner, sitting with her friends, but even that had been brief. Zhu Li Moon also couldn't stop telling me about one of her husband’s new single business partner, and how she thought me and him would make a perfect couple. If my mother isn't trying to set me up, then Zhu Li is. In the past I had allowed Zhu Li to set me up, in fact, she is responsible for three of my past relationships. She has fairly good taste, even though none of those relationships have actually worked out. However, now with my feelings belonging to someone, I can't even imagine myself going on a date with anyone else. In no way am I interested, but as soon as I told Zhu Li that I am not quite in the right space to be dating she immediately burst into questions, and considering she's a psychologist I knew I couldn't talk my way out or lie. So, I was forced to agree to go on this date with this man. A double date, with Zhu Li and her husband to London to dinner and a play in two weeks on the long weekend.

To make things worse last night after dinner I was doing my usual rounds with the girls in my house, talking to them about their holidays when I had been dragged into a conversation with Kuvira and June. The conversation had been about Kuvira’s crush on Korra, and her plan to win her over, and I had to act natural, keep a smile on my face and give her 'advice,’ where on the inside I had been insanely jealous, and it had just reminded me how anyone could be with Korra, and she can sleep with and date whoever she wants. She isn't mine, and she can never be.

"Your homework for Thursday is to finish questions 1 a, b, and c on page 78 and finish reading chapter 9 of Hamlet," I say as the girls start packing up their books in the last few minutes of the lesson.

I sigh as I collapse in my chair, messaging my temples. It's only the middle of the day but I'm already exhausted. I need to keep focused and stop thinking of Korra, especially considering she's in my next class.

"Hello Miss Sato," I look up to see the first of my year twelves entering the English classroom. I put a smile on my face and greet the girl back. My eyes scan the face of each girl enters the class, returning smiles and greetings.

Finally, at the last minute before the lesson is to commence, Korra walks in. My heart involuntarily skips a beat and the sight of her, but I maintain my composure. Her eyes don't meet mine and instead remain glued to the floor the whole time until she takes her seat at her desk. I tear my gaze off her and look around the class, forcing a wide smile on my face.

"I trust you all had a good break?" I ask, and several nods and grumbles answer my question.

"If I remember correctly I gave out homework to do for your break, if you could please get those out for me and hand them forward to the front row," I say, walking around my desk and waiting patiently for them to all get their essays out their bags and pass them forward. As I wait, I can't help but glance at Korra again, and again my heart skips as our gaze meets. She looks away quickly, but all it took was a brief glance at her eyes to tell that she's still not happy with the way things turned out between us.

I shake myself internally, reminding myself to be the grown-up in this situation. I can control myself. I have to control myself. I need to stop thinking about Korra so much, I have a job to do. Classes to teach, homework, and essays to mark, a play to co-direct. I can't be spending time thinking and worrying about Korra, and if I let my thoughts linger on her, it isn't going to help me get over her. I need to focus on my job.

I walk along the front row of desks, collecting all the essays that have been handed forward. I have a lot of marking to do this week, I can tell I'm going to up late into the night tonight.

When I reach Korra’s desk, I do my best to not let my gaze linger on her, to act natural, however, I fail miserably. Her stormy blue eyes capture mine, and I feel my heart flutter. Her gaze lingers on mine, staring at me with an almost challenging, intense look. I pull myself away and continue as if her gaze did nothing to me, even though in my chest my heart is racing. It's insane that she has this effect on me.

I continue with the lesson, managing to not allow myself to look or stare at Korra again, even though I can feel her eyes on me, which isn't uncalled for considering I am her teacher and it's normally for students to stare at their teacher during a lesson.

When the lesson ends Korra is the first one to pack all her things away, get up, and leave. I feel a pang in my heart, feeling slightly hurt at the fact that she couldn't bear to be in the same room as me for a second more than necessary.

However, I don't blame her. If her feelings for me are as strong as mine are for her then she's probably feeling the same antagonizing feeling when she sees me, knowing that we can never be together in the way that we want to. Part of me wonders if she's angry at me, although I know that's unlikely. She's mature enough to understand my reasoning behind why we can't be together, or why we can't even try to just be friends. She's probably just as hurt as I am and upset at the situation.

I sigh deeply to myself, and pull myself out of my thoughts, focusing all my attention on my next class. That’s all I can do, for now, focus my attention elsewhere and keep myself busy so that I don't allow myself to get wrapped in my thoughts of Korra. It frustrates me that I can't have her, that I can't be with her. I've never before had something, or in this case, someone that I've wanted so badly but was beyond my reach, and it annoys me.


	20. Chapter 20

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 20  
\--  
Korra's POV

It's almost awkward to see Asami dressed in her black pencil skirt and white blouse with her hair up in her teacher’s bun. It's even more strange to be sitting in my Kyoshi Academy's uniform listening to her teach.

The entire lesson all I could think about was that night we had shared together. How beautiful she looked in the moonlight, how delicate but firm her hands had felt over my skin, how exhilarating her lips felt against mine…

It still stings in my chest that she can't be mine. It's an infuriating feeling, knowing that we can't be together. Part of me wants to fight for it, fight for us, I don't want to let her go, but at the same time, I know that it's selfish of me. I don't have anything to lose if we did get together, she on the other hand has everything to lose. Her job, her reputation, her life even…

Another infuriating thing was how collected and calm she seemed in our lesson, like seeing me did nothing to her. She seemed so unaffected like nothing had ever happened between us. It angers me, how fine she appears, especially considering how hard it is for me, how her mere presence leaves me breathless with my heart pounding.

I groan and plant my head on my arms which are wrapped tightly around my knees. This whole situation is fucked up. Why can't life ever be easy for a change?

"Hey, you okay?" Jinora's voice calls my attention, and I raise my head and look around to see her approaching me. After lessons ended for the day, I went to a quiet spot overlooking the soccer fields for some space before I have to go to play practice and deal with two hours of being in the presence of Asami. I'm dreading it, it was hard enough being in her class, but at play practice, we're going to have to interact even more because she's one of the directors and I do have a leading role.

"Yeah, just thinking…" I say, giving her a weary smile. She gives a knowing half-smile and takes a seat next to me on the grass.

"Want to talk about it?" She asks, and I purse my lips. I've never really been able to talk to any of my friends about problems or such in the past, it just isn't something I'm comfortable with. Besides, it's not like I can tell Jinora, or anyone for that matter, about my 'issues' concerning Asami.

"Have you ever been in love?" I ask, and she shoots me a curious look.

"Why?" She asks skeptically. I shrug, and she hesitates before answering, still giving me her curious look.

"I have been in love," she answers finally, joining me in staring into the distance.

"Is it worth it?" I ask.

"How do you mean?" She frowns.

"I mean, is being in love worth the risk?" I clarify.

"I guess… yeah it is," she says after a pause, "I mean the heartbreak is indescribable, but so is the feeling of being in love."

"What happened?" I ask, "between you and this person that you were in love with I mean."

She pauses, a look of sadness crossing her features momentarily.

"He fell out of love with me... lost feelings for me and starting to distance himself. Eventually, I brought it up with him, asked him why he was acting distant and cold, and he told me the truth, that he wasn't interested anymore. It broke my heart. I couldn't get out of bed for two whole weeks and I couldn't stop crying. What made it worse is that he got together with one of my friends a week after we broke up. It took me eight months to fully get over him," she says, and I can see traces of anger and hurt etched onto her expression as she talks.

"I'm sorry," I say quietly. Jinora is beautiful, not only in looks but in personality too. She's smart, funny, kind, sensitive, and extremely understanding. I couldn't imagine anyone that could ever manage to fall out of love with her.

"It's alright, he's turned into a complete fuckboy now," she chuckles, "I'm over it."

We sit and stare for a few moments in silence before she turns to me. "Why do you ask?" She asks, "are you in love with someone?"

I remain quiet, not quite knowing the answer to that question myself. "I've never been in love before," I admit, "so... I don't know..."

I let out a defeated sigh.

"Are you falling in love?" She asks quietly.

"I think so..." I say. Part of me knows that I am, but another part of me doesn't want to admit it.

"Who is it?" She asks.

"You don't know her," I answer, hating that I have to lie.

"Why did you ask if it's worth the risk?" She asks after a short pause.

"There's a lot that we're risking, if we get together that is," I say.

"Does she have feelings for you?" She asks, and I nod.

"Does she want to be with you?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she does... but, well it's complicated," I sigh.

"Korra nobody can control who they fall for, I'm sure you know that," she says, and I nod again. I know this.

"Kissing, sex, cuddles, and all that stuff is great as it is, but when it's done with someone you're in love with, it all becomes a hundred times better," she carries on, and I can't help but smile. It's true, everything with Asami is incredible, exhilarating and it leaves me wanting more. I've never felt that way with anyone else before.

"And your first love hits you hard, it's rare and deep but worth every risk there is, even heartbreak," she continues, "and when you fall for someone on that level it's impossible to stay away, I'm sure you've realized that. You might have a lot to lose by being with them, but trust me, it's worth it compared to what you have to lose by not being with them."

The last part of Jinora's little speech sinks in, and the realization of her words hits me like a truck of bricks. Asami is one thing that I will not let go of easily, even if it means I have to wait until I've graduated. Asami is someone worth fighting for, and I'm going to fight hard.

***

After my talk with Jinora, we make our way back to our dorm house and meet up with Yue before going to play practice in the auditorium. We file in with the rest of the cast of the play, and my eyes immediately find Asami, who stands talking to Mr. Omashu, the other director. My eyes continue to linger on her as we make our way to the seats, Jinora and Yue deep in a conversation about something next to me.

As soon as the entire cast has settled down Mr. Omashu turns his attention to us.

"Alright girls, today I want everyone who's in scenes one, two, and three to go with Miss Sato and the music teacher Mr. Jeong. The rest of you come with me," Mr. Omashu commands, and as soon as he's done, we all stand and split into our two groups. Part of me wishes I was in the first three scenes, so I could be around Miss Sato, but then again, it's been antagonizing just being in the same class as her.

The next two hours pass by quickly and consist of mostly practicing solos, singing, and beginning to choreograph the dance scenes. By the time we're trudging back to our dorm rooms before heading to dinner my eyes are stinging from being open so long. It's been a long day.

"Hey hot stuff," I hear to my left and see Kuvira and her friends June and Kori making their way to me.

"What do you want?" I sigh, having no energy to put up with her desperate attempts at flirting.

"Ooo feisty, what's got your panties in a knot?" She smirks, making me roll my eyes and Jinora and Yue to roll their eyes on my behalf.

"What do you want Kuvira?" I repeat myself as we enter our dorm house and I begin to make my way through the passageway to the staircase.

"Fine I'll get right too it," Kuvira muses at my annoyed mood, "it's nearly the end of summer, and basically every year near autumn, we sneak out and go skinny dipping. It's like traditional in our group of misfits."

“And what does this have to do with me," I say wearily as I begin the ascend to my room, Kuvira keeping stride next to me. Jinora, Yue, Kori, and June had peeled off and gone to mingle in the common room.

"I'm inviting you to join us," she states as if it were obvious.

"Why? So, you can see me naked and take advantage of me? No thanks," I snort, starting the climb on the second landing.

"Well seeing you naked would be a bonus, and hey you never know, you might like what you see," she smirks, and I cast her a doubtful look. She winks at me and I roll my eyes before she continues, "come on, it'll be fun! It's our last year of high school, might as well break some rules and have some fun."

“And get caught?" I raise an eyebrow at her.

"We never get caught. We time it perfectly. Tuesdays are one of the gardner's days off when he goes home to his wife in London, meaning the guardhouse by the pool is empty. Also, they only do their rounds once an hour, and they're normally too lazy to go all the way to the pool."

"No Kuvira," I sigh.

"Well, think about it at least. We're going tomorrow night," Kuvira smirks, throwing me one last flirtatious wink as we reach the top of the fourth landing. She makes her way downstairs while I continue to my room, shaking my head at Kuvira’s proposal

There is a small part of me that wants to go. Maybe some rebellion to get that blood pumping will be good for me... help me take my mind off things at least.

After dinner I finish my homework and go straight to bed, feeling exhausted from the first day back at school. As I drift off to sleep, images of Asami's smile flash over my eyelids, sending me into a sexually frustrating dream.

***

"Speechless I gaze: the flame within  
Runs swift o'er all my quivering skin:  
My eyeballs swim; with dizzy din  
My brain reels round;  
  
And cold drops fall; and tremblings frail  
Seize every limb; and grassy pale  
I grow; and then--together fail  
Both sight and sound.”

Asami's silver voice washes over my skin, teasing my already frustrated core. I absolutely love it when she reads out loud, especially poetry. Her heels clicking against the floor as she walks slowly around the classroom, her lips moving with each word. How she manages to captivate my very soul with the most simplistic movements is beyond me.

In my seat I adjust my position and cross my legs, my eyes drinking in her curved figure as she makes her way to the front of the class, shutting the book she was reading from and turning to us.

"Quite a complex poem if I do say so myself. Could anyone follow what the writer meant by it?" She says, her eyes scanning the class as she leans against her desk.

No hands go up.

I don't know what comes over me, but I suddenly feel a sense of boldness, accompanied with a sly and sneaky thought. I'm definitely about to cross a boundary that could certainly get me in a lot of trouble.

"Yes, Korra?" She speaks as she sees my hand. I can tell she's hesitant as if hoping for anyone else to raise their hand. I feel a small shiver run down my spine at the way my name rolls from her lips. This is the first time she's addressed me since Saturday, and for some reason, her gaze leaves me momentarily intimidated.

"Pleasure," I say, keeping my gaze locked on her. Her jaw clenches ever so slightly.

"Elaborate," She says, her voice tighter than it was before.

"Sexual pleasure," I say, cocking my head to the left, my gaze becoming more challenging and the corner of my mouth lifting in a smirk. Her lips purse and she stiffens. Around me, the other girls stifle giggles and snorts.

"What makes you say that," she says slowly. She continues, holding my gaze, seemingly unintimidated. Her voice holds an underlining danger, as if she's subtly telling me that I'm crossing a line, however, my confidence is in full thrust and I continue.

"The second last paragraph was a dead giveaway, 'speechless I gaze: the flame within runs swiftly over my quivering skin?’ sounds like the beginnings of a climax to me," I begin, and around me stifled laughter is heard. Asami's jaw clenches more and I notice her knuckles whiten on the desk, "’my eyeballs swim; with dizzy din my brain reels round?’ Most definitely a perfect fit description of orgasmic release."

Asami's eyes pierce mine, and I can see I've set her off. I have to admit, as sexy as it is seeing her mad it also is rather scary. I've never seen her this pissed off before.

"Interesting opinion, however, I'd advise conveying your own interpretation of the poem using better English," She says, maintaining her composure before turning her gaze away from mine and continuing with her lesson like nothing happened. I feel slightly disappointed in the fact that she didn't add anything more. In fact, she seems to ignore me for the rest of the lesson, paying absolutely no attention to me whatsoever.

The bell rings, signaling the end of our English literature lesson and the end of the day. With everyone else, I start packing away my things, feeling ever so guilty about my answer in class.

"Korra, stay behind," I hear Asami's voice call out just as I'm about to leave the class with Song and Jin. I glance up at her and see that she isn't even looking in my direction. I feel my heart sink I step aside and give reassuring smiles to Jin and Song, who through me sympathetic good luck looks.

I wait patiently for the last student to leave the class, feeling my heart race increase in anticipation as to what Asami is going to say to me.

"Close the door," she simply commands, still not looking at me as she continues to tidy her desk. I do as I'm told, cursing myself for opening my mouth during the lesson. I shouldn't have challenged her like that in front of all her students.

"Do not humiliate me like that again," She says, her voice so cold it stings my heart slightly; however, I can't help but scoff. She looks up sharply at my response.

"Excuse me?" She says dangerously straightening and raising an eyebrow at me.

"I answered a question you asked," I snort, rolling my eyes.

"Roll your eyes again and it'll be a week’s worth of detention, Miss Waters," she continues with the dangerous tone. I feel slightly uncomfortable by the way she addresses me, mostly because it reminds me that she is my teacher, and I'm her student I hate how she can just go back to normal and pretend nothing happened between us.

"Don't choose such blatantly sexual poems if you don't want your students to analyze them for the sexual meaning they hold," I snap at her, feeling irritated myself.

"Watch your tone," she snaps back. Anger bristles through me and I walk slowly towards her, maintaining eye contact until I reach her desk. She watches me, her expression unchanged. I take notice of her phone, and the memory of me placing the photo booth photos in her phone case comes to mind. I'm not sure what takes over me, but I lean over and pick up her phone, sliding off the cover.

The two photos fall into my hand. I look up at her. Her face is hard to read but knowing that she still keeps the photos in her case makes me realize that maybe she isn't dealing as well with our situation as she's led me to believe. I place the photos back in her case and set her phone back down. Her eyes dart back to mine, and I can see she doesn't know what to say.

"You're sexy when you're mad," I say quietly, and a smirk forms on my face. Something flashes behind her eyes and I can see she's caught by surprise by my words but her expression changes quickly back to how it was before, and her mouth opens to retort, probably to reprimand me again, however, I speak before she can utter a word.

"I'll see you at play practice, Miss Sato," I chuckle, turning on my heel and walking out her classroom without another glance.

I walk out the library smiling like an idiot to myself. It feels good to know that I do still have some effect over Asami, even though she puts on a pretty good act to prove otherwise. I know it was unfair of me, what I did back there, and that me flirting with her and playing around inappropriately like that isn't going to help our situation, but it's not like I can just shut out my feelings for her and pretend they don't exist. I can't forget that night we shared, and I definitely can't forget the time we spent together in Brighton. When it comes to her, I can't seem to control myself.

I make my way to our dorm houses, my mind whirling like a tornado with wild thoughts.

"Hey sexy legs," Kuvira’s voice interrupts my thinking, and I look up to see her jogging towards me before falling into stride next to me.

"What is it now," I roll my eyes at her.

"Have you thought about it?" She inquires. "Skinny dipping with you lot?"

"Yes," she smirks, looking me up and down.

"Come on, live a little, what do you have to lose? It'll distract your busy mind for a bit… you look stressed. Want some weed?" She says. I let out a sharp laugh.

"No, thanks for the offer," I shake my head laughing.

"And what about the night swim?" She nags again.

"Maybe," I shrug. After all, she does have a point, it'll take my mind off things for a while. Might as well make some high school memories while I can.

"I'll take that as a yes," she grins, running off.

"I said maybe!" I shout after her.

"Said maybe to what?" I hear a snide voice from behind me, and as I turn, I come face to face with Azula and her group of bitches.

"None of your damn business," I give her a sweet smile and turn, continuing on my way to the dorm house.

"Well you see I am a prefect, so it does happen to be my business," She continues in her cocky tone, falling into step beside me, her minions dragging behind.

"I honestly don't care," I sigh.

"There's a rumor going around that you're a lesbian," she says, changing the subject and studying me closely for my reaction.

"Let me guess, you started the rumor?" I say in a borderline uninterested tone.

"So, it's true?" She asks.

"First off, my sexuality is yet another thing that falls under a long list of things that isn't your business. Secondly, if I were, is there a problem?" I give her a raised eyebrow stare, challenging her.

"You're defensive, I take that as a yes to the rumor," she smirks. I merely roll my eyes.

"I neither confirmed nor declined but sure, believe what you wish. I could not care less," I say.

"You might say that now, but when this rumor spreads across the whole school, you won't be Miss Rising popular anymore," She says, almost threateningly. I ignore her and continue walking, leaving her to fall back and join her coven of bitches.

I enter the dorm house and find my way into the common room, weaving between couches of lounging final years and stepping over girls doing homework while sprawled over the floor. I find my group of friends and take a seat next to Yue and Jinora, across from On Ji, Jin, and Song.

"Heyyy, heard you got in trouble with Miss Sato," Jinora states as soon as I take a seat.

"I'd hardly call it trouble," I chuckle.

"Apparently you started talking about orgasms in class," Yue laughs at me.

"She did! I couldn't stop laughing! Miss Sato started getting pissed! And I mean she never gets mad," Song confirms.

"So, what did she say to you after class?" Jin asks me.

"Basically, told me to try and stay more appropriate," I shrug simply.

"To be fair it was quite a sexual poem," Song grins at me.

"Azula just threatened me," I inform them, deciding to change the subject.

"What? What did she do?!?" Jinora leans in, interested now

"She told me that there's a rumor going around that I'm a lesbian," I say, "and that when the whole school finds out I won't be 'miss rising popular' anymore or something along those lines."

Jinora and Yue both scoff and roll their eyes.

"She's just jealous because you're hotter than she is without even trying to be," Jin snorts. On Ji nods in agreement and I laugh at the two of them.

"Plus, she feels threatened by the fact that all the teachers love you because you're like, fucking amazing at everything," Song adds.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Jinora puts in, "most of the school isn't homophobic anyways, and those who are will keep their mouths shut because they'll be reprimanded for bullying."

"I'm not worried about anything," I sigh, "it's just getting on my nerves that she thinks I'm competing with her over popularity and stuff. I really don't care about any of it."

We talk for a while more before those of us who are part of the play bid out goodbyes and head off to the auditorium for rehearsals.

During rehearsals I found myself watching Asami whenever I could, as usual, I was in awe of every single thing she did and how she managed to make it look like art, even when she was just speaking or listening to someone. She just looks like a pure angel. That woman can do no wrong.

It hurt slightly that I never once caught her staring at me, although granted, she was working on the one side of the stage with the more minor actors and parts while I was on the other side of the stage with Mr. Omashu.

"Alright girls, it's been a productive two hours. If we keep this up every day, we'll be ready way before opening night," Mr. Omashu says towards the end of rehearsals, "tomorrow we will be starting with fittings for costumes. Whenever you have free time please come to the auditorium where the costume designer will be waiting to do measurements and such. Alright, that's all, now head off to dinner."

Throughout dinner, I continue to throw longing glances towards the teachers’ head table where Asami sits, deep in conversation with Mako, or as I should call him Mr. Fire.

She’s becoming more and more of a forbidden fruit, in arms reach but I can’t have her, none the less.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter for the day, hope you enjoy :)

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 21  
\--  
Korra's POV

I'm woken to a bright light shining from someone's torch on their phone accompanied by violent shaking.

"Korra, wake the fuck up," I hear Kuvira’s voice as I squint and slap the torch away, sitting up as I do so.

"What is going on?" I grumble, my eyes scanning three other faces behind Kuvira, belonging to Kori, June, and another girl I can't name.

"We're going skinny dipping," Kori whispers, chucking a towel at me.

"It's the middle of the night," I groan, staring at Yue’s Alarm clock.

"Exactly," whispers June.

"I don't remember agreeing to this," I mutter as I let the girls yank me out of bed and pull me out of my room.

"Please don't get caught and don't wake me up when you return," I hear Yue mumble as we leave.

"Is she coming?" Another girl whispers up to us from halfway down the staircase as we begin our descend. I'm still rubbing the sleep off my eyes and my head is heavy from exhaustion.

"Yes," Kuvira whispers down to her.

As we make our way from the fourth floor to the first, several other girls join us, and by the time we've snuck out the back door in the kitchen I count at least twelve of us in total. My eyes linger on Asami's door down one of the passages, and I wonder how our not-so-quiet escape hasn't woken her up.

I'm not even sure why I'm going along with this, but as we run down the hill and towards the pool, I feel a smile turning up my lips. In a matter of a few seconds, we turn from seventeen-year-olds into a bunch of ten-year-olds, giggling and tripping over each other.

As soon as we reach the pool and skid to a halt, everyone around me starts stripping off their clothing, leaving them in heaps before rushing to the pool's edge and sliding in while trying to make the least amount of noise possible.

"Come on sexy legs, strip," Kuvira winks at me, pulling her pants and underwear off. I can't help but smirk and strip down too, pretending to ignore Kuvira’s eyes widen and mouth drop. She's not the only one, several other girls stare with wide eyes. Quickly I slide into the water, actually enjoying the cold yet refreshing feeling wash over my skin. 

I turn and look at Kuvira, who is still gawking after me.

"Thought we came here to swim, get in you pervert," I whisper shout at her, laughing.

"Who wants to play truth or dare?" I hear one of the girls ask, and I look over to see her passing around a flask, probably containing alcohol. I'm not surprised. This is, after all, the group of girls known in the school for drinking, smoking, and breaking the rules.

"Since you suggested it, you start," Kuvira says, wading into the water, "truth or dare?"

"Dare," snorts the girl, "truth is for pussies."

"Alright, I dare you to kiss the hottest girl in here," Kuvira smirks, gesturing around.

"Hey that's not fair, you know I'm dating someone outside of school," the girl complains.

"So what? He'll never know," Kuvira snorts, and a few other girls laugh. The girl who has been dared looks around the pool before wading over to a girl I recognize as June and kissing her.

"See? Wasn't hard," Kuvira laughs, "now pick the person who goes next."

"I pick you," the girl says, pointing at Kuvira, "what will it be, Kuvira? Truth or dare."

"Dare," Kuvira challenges.

"I dare you to drink the remainder of what's in this bottle in one go," the girl smirks, tossing Kuvira the still rather full hip flask.

"Gladly," Kuvira grins, and chugs the whole thing with ease, wincing slightly as she finishes. She throws the empty hip flask back before scanning the pool for the next girl to dare, her eyes unsurprisingly landing on me.

"Truth or dare, Korra," she chuckles. I roll my eyes and sigh. "Truth," I say simply.

"Alright, but if you don't answer truthfully then you kiss me," Kuvira smirks, and some of the girls whistle.

"I'll make sure not to lie then," I laugh.

"Who in this pool would you fuck?" She asks, and I snort, my eyes turning to all of the girls around me. If I had been asked that question a year ago, I would've had no problem picking someone, however, now I can't even imagine sleeping with any of these girls. I can't imagine being with anyone but Asami.

"No one," I answer, shrugging.

"You basically just insulted all of us," Kori laughs.

"Come on, if you had to choose, life or death situation," June says.

"Fine, I'd pick Kori," I sigh. Kuvira looks slightly disappointed as if she had been hoping I'd end up not answering the question and have to kiss her. Kori laughs at Kuvira before swimming over to me and kissing my cheek, making me laugh too.

For another half an hour I watch and laugh as each of the other girls gets a turn at truth or dare, and luckily for me, no one is dared to kiss me.

Eventually, when we've all basically started shivering, we get out and pull our clothes on before running back up to our dorm house, just as a security guard’s torch comes shining around the corner.

"Fuck that was close," swears one of the girls as we near the house.

"Wait a sec, everyone stop," Kori mutters, and all of us come to a halt. I peer at the house and my eyes widen as I see what she noticed. The downstairs lights are on, meaning someone, probably a teacher or our dorm master, aka Miss Sato, is awake.

"Shit," Kuvira whispers.

"I'll go distract her," I blurt out, "you girls wait here for a few seconds and I'll distract her from the front, then you guys can sneak in the back through the kitchen."

"Dude you can't take the blame for all of us," one of the girls pipes in, "if you go down we all go down."

"Yeah I agree with her, it's unfair on you," June nods her head.

"I'm one of her favorites," I lie, although somehow I know that I could get away with just a warning when it comes to Asami, "it'll be fine. Just be quiet when you sneak back upstairs."

"Wow, taking the fall for us? Never knew you had it in you," Kuvira says, her eyebrow raised in surprise. I take a deep breath and make my way around the dorm house to the front door. I take another deep breath and knock on the door, my mind racing as I try to think of what type of excuse I could tell Asami.

The door opens and I look up to see Asami, who looks back at me with a surprised expression on her face, her white robe tied around her.

"Korra," She says, still taken aback.

"Yes, it’s me," I say, putting on a confident face and cocking my head to the side, giving her a sly smile.

"What are you doing outside in the middle of the night?" She sighs, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

"I went swimming," I say, shrugging.

"You went swimming," she repeats as if she can't quite believe it. Behind her, I see a few of the still half-naked girls creeping back upstairs.

"More like skinny dipping," I say, giving her a wink.

"Why?" She asks, an exasperated sigh falling from her lips.

"I felt like it," I say, shrugging simply.

"And you went alone?" She asks, her eyes moving from mine and looking behind me for signs of anyone else.

"Next time I'll be sure to invite you,” I smirk, her jaw clenching at my words and her eyes darting back to mine, a warning look in them.

"Have you been drinking?" She asks, ignoring my last statement. "Nope," I say, popping the ‘p.’

"Smoking?" She asks, folding her arms over her midsection and raising an eyebrow at me in a very teacher-like manner. I shake my head, still giving her a flirtatious smile. Over her shoulder I see the last of the girls disappear up the steps.

"So, you wouldn't mind if I drug tested you?" She asks, and I laugh.

"Drug test me as much as you please, Asami," I chuckle, "you won't find anything."

"Miss Sato," she mutters, reminding me.

"Pardon my manners," I say slyly before stepping up onto the step right in front of her, making sure to purr her last name as sexually as I can, "Miss Sato."

Sure enough, her expression changes, her eyes darkening for a split second before she clears her throat and looks away, stepping back and letting me into the house.

"I'm letting you off with a warning Korra, don't let it happen again," Asami warns, shutting the front door and locking it. I chuckle and make my way to the staircase, Asami following me.

"Korra," she calls, just as I reach the bottom of the stairs. "Yes, Miss?" I ask, turning around.

"If you went 'skinny dipping' alone, why is there a dozen wet footprints?" She sighs, gesturing to the floor. I hide my smile.

"I don't see anything," I smirk.

"You were a distraction, weren't you?" She sighs again.

"I have no due what you're talking about Miss," I shrug, playing innocent, before winking at her one last time and turning my back on her, starting my climb up the staircase.

"Goodnight Miss Sato," I call over my shoulder.

***

Wednesday passes by slowly, and motionlessly I go through class by class taking notes and doing the work but not really paying much attention.

As usual, Asami is on my mind. I'm so torn and confused. I want her, I want her to be mine and I want to be hers. I know she has feelings for me, as hard as it is to believe. She must want to be with me too, or at least maybe give us a chance.

But she has a lot at risk. I don't blame her for pushing her feelings aside. I'm being a pain, I know I am, by flirting with her and being difficult in the sense that I'm making it difficult for her to pretend that I'm just a student to her.

Part of me knows I should just keep my distance from her, that I should treat her like I would treat any other teacher. But another part of me breaks down at just the thought of her never being more to me than my teacher.

During the day all the cast members make their way to the auditorium whenever they’re free so they can get their measurements for their costumes. My Wednesdays are busy, so it's already 4 p.m. by the time I'm making my way to the auditorium.

"Oh dear, are you coming for a fitting?" An elderly plump lady holding a basket filled with tape measures, pins and fabric asks as I enter the empty auditorium. She looks as though she's in the midst of packing up. My heart skips a beat as I see Asami busy with something behind her. She looks as beautiful as always...

"Yes, sorry I was busy all day," I say, my eyes still resting on Asami, who turns sharply at the sound of my voice. Her eyes only meet mine for a brief moment before she turns back to whatever it was she was doing, however, her posture is stiffer now. Whenever she does look at me, it is always briefly, like she can't stand to look at me for longer than a second.

"No worry dear, however, I do have another appointment elsewhere and if I stay any longer I am going to be late," she says, "but Miss Sato here has been helping me most of the day, she knows what needs to be done. She can do your measurements and give them to me when I see her tomorrow."

The old lady beams at me cheerfully, and Asami turns quickly, opening her mouth as if to protest before closing it again and forcing a smile.

"Of course," she says, her eyes moving to mine again. I can't help but smile slyly. Alone, with Asami. At close range too, considering she has to do measurements.

"Thank you, dear," the lady smiles at Asami before picking up her stuff and leaving. I stand still, waiting for Asami to tell me what to do. She's turned her back on me again, continuing with what I guess is writing on a clipboard. She clears her throat and turns, her eyes meeting mine and her face expressionless and clear of emotions.

"Stand on that stool," she says, pointing to a wooden step on the floor. I do as I'm told. She picks up a measuring tape and a small note pad and pen.

"Take off your shoes," she says, and I do so, smiling to myself.

"And your blazer," she adds, nearing me but still keeping her distance.

"Anything else you'd like me to take off?" I ask slyly, her eyes shoot to mine, her jaw clenching as it usually does when I cross a line.

"Korra," she says stiffly, warning me.

"Sorry," I say, hiding a smirk. She hands me the note pad and pen, which I take hesitantly, confused at what I need to do.

"Write down the measurements I call out," She says, stepping closer and pulling out the tape.

I watch her as she slowly, and hesitantly at first, wraps the tape around my waist, her fingers only slightly brushing my hips over my skirt, but the small action is enough to cause goosebumps and make me hold my breath. This is the closest we've been in a few days, and immediately all I can't think about is that night.

Clearly, I'm not the only one who's affected by our close proximity, because Asami's eyes are avoiding mine and her jaw is clenched tightly.

"26," She says stiffly, and I have to blink and remind myself to write down the number next to 'waist'. My hands are trembling, and my heart is hammering in my chest. I still find it insane that she has this type of effect on me.

"Lift up your arms," She says, and I do so. She does her measurements, and I copy down the numbers she calls out. 

She bends down, placing the tape by my ankle and slowly straightening, running the tape measure up my leg, her hands skimming my skin. I have to purse my lips to stop myself from making a sound, averting my eyes to the ceiling to try to distract myself. She reaches my skirt line and hesitates. I look down to see that she's trembling slightly.

I can't help myself anymore and I move a hand down, resting it over hers and gently directing her to move her hand that holds the tape measure under my skirt. Her hand continues to move slowly up my thigh, and I purse my lips together tighter as her fingers reach the top of my thigh. She's so close to the line of my underwear, and I can feel her fingers twitch as if wanting to move towards the place between my legs.

She takes a shaky breath and quickly pulls her hand away, pulling herself together and calling out the next measurement, her eyes not meeting mine as she pretends nothing happened, however, my heart is pounding even louder against my chest and I'm struggling to compose myself.

She moves behind me, measuring the width of my thigh, her fingers brushing my bare skin is torturing me even more. She moves back up, measuring my chest. I know she had to move behind me so that she didn't have to be too close to my breasts.

"You can step down," she says, her voice tight I step down, my legs slightly shaky. She moves in front of me and moves the tape measure around my neck, her nails accidentally brush the skin. I purse my lips again, and this time she notices, her eyes lingering on them before she moves her gaze elsewhere.

"Last time you wrapped something around my neck it was your hand not a tape measure," I can't help but mutter, making her drop the tape measure. She bends down quickly while clearing her throat, picking it up from the floor, her face tinted with crimson.

“Not funny," she murmurs as I chuckle.

She takes the note pad from me, filling in the last two measurements by herself, her back turned to me. I study her carefully, a familiar distant throbbing at my center that her innocent touches had caused.

"Am I done?" I ask, and she nods, still not looking at me. I pause before sliding my shoes back on and picking up my blazer. I leave the auditorium, lingering at the door before I go, giving Asami one last look as my heart slightly breaks in my chest. I just wish she would look at me for more than one second. I miss her soft eyes…


	22. Chapter 22

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 22  
\--  
Asami's POV

Throughout Thursday and Friday, Korra keeps up the sly flirtatious comments and looks, and it's driving me crazy. I try to ignore her as best I can by not looking at her, or by not responding to her subtle actions

She also seems to have figured out that calling me by my last name triggers a reaction in me, which is frustrating on my end because she now purrs my name in the most sexual of ways, letting it roll off her tongue as if she were moaning it in my ear.

It's difficult to focus on teaching in class when she sits right at the front, biting the end of her pen while looking at me through her eyelashes, a delicate smile placed on her lips like she knows how sexually frustrated she's making me feel.

Every time I look at her I resist the urge to touch her, to kiss her. There's a guttural ripping feeling deep inside when I spot her from across the courtyard, or during play practice, and I'm reminded that I can't be with her.

There have been times where I've reconsidered when I've thought about the possibilities that we could maybe try, but there's always the sensible part of my brain that snaps me back to reality and reminds me of all the reasons we couldn't. We shouldn't.

I could get fired.

I could get sent to jail.

I would ruin my reputation. 

It would ruin the school's reputation. It would even ruin Korra's reputation.

After Wednesday, I even called Opal, and she had repeated the exact same reasons to me. However, I know that she approves of Korra, and if the consequences were less severe and serious she'd push for me to go for her.

Right now it's Friday night, movie night, and unconsciously I'm staring at Korra from across the common room, the flickering lights of the projector reminding me of the flickering lights that were at the music festival nearly two weeks ago. She looks just as beautiful as she did then. Her perfect jawline, her fairly tanned skin, her long natural dark eyelashes, her defined cheekbones, her evenly shaped nose, her captivating cerulean eyes, her lips...

Her head turns, her eyes catching mine, and I turn my head back to the movie, annoyed at myself for letting her catch me staring at her. I feel her eyes linger on me for several more moments before she too returns her gaze to the screen.

I don't know what I'm going to do with this girl.

***

"Alright girls, everyone who's not in this scene please follow me to the storage room, we're going to be looking for props," I call out on Saturday afternoon in the beginning to play practice. I watch as any of the actors who aren't in the scene stand up and make their way to me. My eyes glance at Korra, feeling my heart skip a beat, the usual butterflies erupting in my chest. This is actually the first time during play practice that she'll be near me.

I lead the way to the backstage where there is a massive storage closet that contains all the props that have been collected throughout the years. Mr. Omashu continues with the scene that was planned for today.

"What exactly are we looking for, Miss Sato?" One of the girls asks as we enter the storage unit.

"I've got a list here," I smile at her, pulling out a folded paper from my pocket and unfolding it before reading, "we're looking for a chest, handkerchiefs, hats, walking sticks, and anything else you think would look suitable in a scene."

"It's a mess in here," another girl comments, pointing out the obvious.

"That is is," I chuckle, "every year we try clean it but it always ends up messy after a few weeks."

"Alright girls, spread out and start searching. Try not to make this mess any worse," I say, making my way to the back corner where a lot of boxes are stacked up.

As we search through the messy shelves, chests, and boxes I listen to the girls' chit chat and gossip while they place anything useful to the side. I like this part of my job, bonding with the girls, and listen to their 'drama', giving advice where I can.

"Did your mom let you go on the pill?" I hear one of the girls ask her friend while I'm busy sorting through a box of clothes. I can't help but smirk and shake my head as I look up and see that its ninth year students talking.

"Yes, my boyfriend was so happy when I told him," the one girl replies, "We won't have to use a condom anymore."

"I'd advise you to use a condom anyways," I interrupt, making them jump in surprise as they realize I've overheard their conversation.

"Oh my god!!" The one girl burrows her face in her hands in embarrassment.

"It's alright Honey," I laugh gently at the two embarrassed red-faced girls, "I'm aware you're not innocent children, I'd rather you be safe."

"You're so chill Miss Sato, this is why you're my favorite teacher," one of the girls says in relief, obviously thinking I was going to give them a lecture about sex.

"Why thank you," I smile at them.

"Agh I'm craving chocolate," I hear Yue complain, and I look over to see her talking to Jinora. My eyes briefly scan around the messy room over all the other girls, unconsciously looking for Korra, however, I don't see her.

"I wish the school had a vending machine or something," Jinora sighs, "I could also do with junk food. I've got my stupid period."

"Even me, I'm craving chocolate," another girl agrees with Jinora and Yue. I stiffen suddenly as I feel someone's presence very close to me, catching me by surprise. A body lightly presses against my back, hands softly resting on my waist. Immediately I know who it is, and I can't help but shiver as I feel her breath lightly against the back of my neck, my breath hitching in my throat.

"I'm also craving something," She whispers so that only I hear, her cool breath igniting goosebumps, "but the thing I'm craving can't be brought from a vending machine."

She steps back and walks past me without another word or a glance like nothing happened. I stare after her, letting out a shaky breath as I do. I realize that my hand is gripping the cloth I was holding so tightly that my knuckles are white. I clench my jaw and relax my hand, trying to recompose myself.

I hate that Korra has this type of effect on me.

"Alright girls I think we've got everything we need, let's make our way back to the stage," I say several minutes later, my eyes still locked on Korra. I feel slightly annoyed. Why is she making this so hard for me? She knows what she does to me, she knows we can't be together, why must she make things so much more difficult than they already are?

The girls wonder their way out the storage closet, holding all the useful props they found and continuing with their conversation. I make my way to the door and wait there, letting all the girls out before me. Korra makes her way slowly towards the door, but before she can exit I rest a hand on her hip and move her to the side subtly. She gets the message and steps to the side, waiting with me for the storage room to empty.

As soon as we're alone I shut the door and turn my attention to Korra, looking at her with a stern teacher expression, my arms folding across my midsection loosely.

"You need to stop," I say firmly.

"Stop what?" She asks, playing innocent with an underlying sly smile on her lips.

"Don't play innocent with me Korra," I sigh.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she shrugs, giving me a wink and a smirk I let out another sigh.

"The sly and subtle flirtatious comments," I say seriously, "I need you to be more appropriate."

"Or what?" She says quietly, tilting her head to the side, a sly smile on her lips, a dark and challenging look in her eyes. She steps forward, forcing me to step back, my back hitting the wall behind me. Her hands plant themselves on either side of my head, her body millimeters from mine. I remind myself to focus, knowing all too well that if I allow myself to fall into the lustful feeling she's making me feel I won't be able to control myself. 

I move quickly, catching her wrists and turn our position so that she slams her back into the wall, my body pressing against hers and my hands trapping hers above her head. Her eyes widen in surprise, a small gasp falling from her lips.

"You're making this harder for me then it already is," I whisper huskily, moving my head so that I speak directly into her ear, "you're leaving me sexually frustrated and I don't appreciate it. Two can play at this game Korra, and we both know I will win."

I pull back, looking in her eyes, which are dark with lust, her chest rising and falling deeply, the sly smile off her face. I force myself to step away and open the door, exiting and making my way back to the stage without another word, trying to ignore the dampness between my legs.

No one seems to have noticed that I took a little longer to rejoin the rest of the group, and no one but me notices Korra join a few minutes afterwards. I know her well enough by now to know that I left her very sexually frustrated. Her jaw is clenched, her breaths are deep and more rapid than usual, her face is flushed and her pupils are dilated. Her eyes lock with mine for a few seconds, and I feel a shiver run down to my core. I wish I could rid of her frustration... sedate her sexual desires...

I force myself to look away and concentrate on helping Mr. Omashu direct the rest of the scene, forcing my mind to be occupied with thoughts that don't involve the image of Korra writhing under me.

I walk peacefully amongst the trees in the orchid, slowly making my way back up to the dorm house to have a shower before dinner time. I had just spent the entire afternoon weeding the allotments and tending to the herbs and plants. After my time gardening, I always feel more at ease. More relaxed.

Even though it didn't quite feel the same gardening without Korra working in comfortable silence next to me.

The smell of soil and fresh plants has stained my shirt as it always does, and my arms and jeans are covered in drying dirt but I don't particularly mind.

As I exit the orchid I ponder the things I need to get done before I go to bed this afternoon. I need to mark some year 10 assignments and a year 11 pop quiz, and then there's some final year 12 essays I need to finish grading. I guess I'll be going to bed late tonight. I should really invest in a teacher's assistant.

There's always a calm and relaxed environment that hangs over Kyoshi Academy on a Sunday afternoon. It's the only truly peaceful time of the week. Most of the girls are laid out on the grass, in groups or pairs or even alone, talking quietly amongst themselves, studying or reading.

However as I pass the courtyard I hear a commotion, a loud argument with steadily raising voices. I frown and quickly make my way to the courtyard entrance. In the middle of the courtyard next to the fountain stands Azula and her clique, and facing them is a pissed-off looking Korra and an annoyed looking Jinora.

"What the hell is your problem?" I hear Azula say as I start to make my way quickly across the courtyard, my teacher senses picking up that a fight is either about to start or is in progress.

"What the hell is my problem?! I should be asking you that! You're the one who basically told the entire fucking school that I'm a slut!" Korra snaps, and I hesitate for a moment, slightly taken aback. What is this about?

"You have absolutely no proof that I said anything," Azula retorts, a smug look on her face as she tosses her hair to the side.

"I heard you telling a group of people that Korra had sex with Kuvira and then went and fucked On Ji," Jinora cuts in, clearly just as ticked off as Korra.

"Well then if Korra doesn't want the reputation of a slut she shouldn't go around sleeping with all the dykes of the school," Azula says simply, giving a sarcastic smile to Korra.

By now I've reached the girls, and just in time too because it looks like Korra is about to attack Azula.

"What on earth is going on?" I exclaim, the attention of the six girls turning to me.

"Nothing Miss, I was just explaining to Korra here how actions have consequences," Azula says sweetly.

"Do you mind explaining the whole situation to me? Because from the small part of what I heard it doesn't quite sound like a nice conversation," I say sternly, raising an eyebrow at Azula. I've never liked this girl. She's always had her nose far too high for her own good, and has the personality of a coin; two-faced.

"Azula here decided to spread rumors that Korra has been sleeping around," Jinora snarls, her eyes glaring daggers at Azula.

"They weren't rumors," Azula snaps back, her gaze turning to ice as she returns Jinora's death glare. My eyes glance at Korra, who's jaw is clenched in anger, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist as if to prevent herself from snapping at Azula. Her eyes are avoiding mine completely, and I don't blame her. I left her high and dry yesterday during rehearsals, and I probably sent some mixed signals. Part of me feels guilty. I should have stuck to ignoring her.

"Alright girls, let's take this to Misses Hou-Ting's office and explain this whole situation to her," I say in my strict teacher tone, directing with my hand for the girls to start walking in the direction of the main building.

"We don't have to do that-" Azula starts to say, her eyes flashing with an immediate attempt of charm as if trying to get me to not report her to the principal. After all, she is the head girl, and her reputation is everything to her.

However I interrupt her with a cold, hard look, and she stops talking and turns on her heel, walking in the direction of the office, her strides telling me she's pissed off, not that I care. I know that she did spread rumors. It wouldn't be the first time she's done it, and this time she won't charm her way out of detention.

I watch Korra carefully. She seems awfully quiet. Dangerously silent. I've never seen her angry like this before. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen her angry before in general. My brows furrow as I stare at her. It doesn't seem like her to get so worked up and angry over something like this. I wonder if there's more going on in her complex mind that I don't know.

We reach the principal's office and I knock, knowing that she most likely will be replying to emails of parents.

"Come in," I hear her say, and I open the door, letting all six girls through before entering myself and closing the door after me.

"What have we here," Misses Hou-Ting asks, her eyebrows raised as she straightens in her chair, her hand lifting to her face and removing her glasses.

"It was all a misunderstanding Ma'am-" Azula begins, her innocent charming smile on her face.

"Korra would you mind explaining what happened? Let's start with your side of the story," I interrupt Azula's bullshit, giving the girl an ice-cold stare to remind her not to speak out of like again. She looks at the floor, pursing her lips in anger, however, she doesn't challenge me.

"Jinora, could you do the talking," Korra says quietly, and I frown. I know Korra well enough to know that her voice was close to breaking as if she is on the verge of tears, which again, is very unlike her.

"Azula told a bunch of people that Korra has been sleeping around, which she hasn't. I even overheard her saying this rumor to a bunch of girls," Jinora says without hesitation, talking in Korra's behalf. My eyes stay glued on Korra, wanting nothing more than to be alone with her and find out what's going on. All I feel is worry and concern for her.

"Korra, is this true?" Misses Hou-Ting asks, directing her attention to Korra.

"Yes Ma'am," She says quietly.

"Azula, is this true?" The principal turns her attention to Azula.

"Ma'am I would never tell a lie like this, I was merely discussing what I had heard from numerous others that Korra had been sleeping around. As the head girl, I had to confront Korra on it, after all, sexual activities on campus is against school rules, and judging by how defensive Korra got about it I assumed that it was indeed true. I'm just concerned about how this may corrupt the younger girls," Azula says, her voice dripping with sweet innocence and self-righteousness, her act laid on so thick and yet Misses Hou-Ting seems to buy every word.

"Well girls, I will have to remain as unbiased as I can. Azula, next time something like this happens I do not want you spreading any 'rumors', even if they might be true, I want you to come to me immediately.

One week's detention with Mr. Fire, I will alert him that he will be supervising yours and Jinora's detention. As for you Korra, two weeks of detention with Miss Sato," Misses Hou-Ting commands, and I clench my jaw and pinch my thigh to stop myself from defending Korra. I know that it doesn't matter how much I argue, Azula will still get away with it and I will end up humiliating myself and making the situation worse. Azula is, after all, the golden girl of the school. I also have to stop myself from protesting against Hou-Ting about the fact that I will now have to have Korra in my class for an extra hour every day for the next two weeks. Alone.

"And Korra, I better not hear about this scandal again. I'm letting you off with a warning. This had better just be a rumor," Hou-Ting adds, and I purse my lips to stop from snapping at the elderly lady. How could she buy Azula's lie? Is she blind?

"Dismissed," Hou-Ting says with a wave of her hand, putting on her glasses and continuing with her emails. Azula is the first to stride out of the room, giving me a sly look as if to say 'I'm untouchable'. I ignore her and take a deep breath to settle the anger in my chest. Jinora and Korra leave too, Korra still not looking at me. I follow the girls, walking a bit faster than normal to try to catch up with Jinora and Korra.

"Korra, Wait," I call, but she doesn't stop walking. Jinora however, does, and she turns to me, a worried look on her face.

"She's not in a good space at the moment Miss Sato," she says, almost apologetically, "I think you should just let her have some space for now."

"Is everything okay?" I ask, my eyes staring after the dark-haired girl as she disappears out the courtyard. My heart drops in my chest.

"She doesn't want to open up to me," Jinora sighs, "but I think it's about her family and the crash. Also, I get the feeling she's having romantic troubles with someone, and then this whole rumor thing happened and it all got a bit much and she snapped."

"Oh," is all I can say. I was right, there's more troubling Korra then just this incident with Azula. I feel my chest tighten as Jinora mentions 'romantic troubles,' and I know that they're about me.

"I hope you know that they were just rumors, Korra hasn't slept around at all," Jinora adds, her tone turning bitter.

"Oh honey trust me, I know," I say, letting out a deep breath, my annoyance at Azula's manipulative lies retuning.

"Korra seems to trust you a lot," Jinora adds, looking slightly sad as if she wished Korra would trust her more, "maybe try talking to her tomorrow or something."

"I will sweetie," I give her a reassuring and kind smile.

"Thank you, Miss Sato," she says, returning my smile. I give her a simple nod and she turns around, continuing on her way out the courtyard and up to the dorm houses.

I purse my lips and my eyebrows furrow in worry as I stare after her. How am I supposed to get Korra to talk to me after everything that's happened?


	23. Chapter 23

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 23  
\--  
Korra's POV

I stand outside Asami's literature classroom in the library, preparing myself for the next hour. It's incredibly frustrating that even though I did nothing wrong at all I'm being punished. And I have a whole extra week of detention compared to Azula. However, I've accepted it. I was in no mood yesterday to argue with Misses Hou-Ting.

What's worse is that now I have an extra hour with Asami every single day for the next two weeks. Alone. As if seeing her every day in class and then again at play practice wasn't torturous enough.

I open the door and enter, closing it behind me. Asami is sitting at her desk, marking papers, wearing her summer blue dress with her hair down in its natural curls, cascading down her shoulders. It reminds me of the first time I met her.

She looks up as I enter. She looks at me differently, her eyes softening. I miss how she used to look at me before everything happened. I look down, breaking our eye contact, and make my way to the front of the class, taking a seat at my usual desk.

"Anything I have to do?" I ask, not looking at her. I know she knows that somethings wrong, I can tell by the way she's been watching me with caution all day.

"Do you have any homework to do?" She asks, and I nod.

"Then you can do that," she says, her eyes still on me. I take out my math books and proceed with the assignment we got today. It's easy math, logarithms, stuff I learned when I was ten. Part of me wishes we were doing more complicated math so that I could at least distract myself, but this type of math comes as second nature, and it doesn't distract my mind in the slightest

After several minutes I can still feel Asami's eyes watching me. I can feel the tension in the air, indicating that she wants to ask me what's wrong, however, I get the sense that she feels like she will be stepping out of line.

"If you want to say something then say it," I say, breaking the silence but keeping my eyes on the equations in front of me.

"Is everything okay Korra?" She asks softly, the care in her voice prominent. I clench my jaw and remain silent. I hear her sigh and put her marking pen down, the sound of her chair moving followed by the sound of her heels on the floor as she makes her way around her desk towards me. I continuing staring at my desk, knowing that if I look up into her gentle green eyes I will break down. There's a tight ball sitting in my throat, and I've been holding back a breakdown for the past two days. Everything's gotten too much. I miss my mom. I miss my dad. I miss Desna. I miss Eska. I miss my home in Cape Town. I miss how my life was. 

I managed to get by when I had Asami to talk to. Everything was bearable when I know I could talk to her when things got too much. But this past week I've had no one to talk to, and it's hurt even more that I've had to treat Asami like my teacher, and that she's had to treat me like her student. I lost everything in the accident My home, my family... but then Asami came into my life and I felt like I could be happy again. She made me see hope and light in a room of darkness that I thought I could never escape from.

"Korra, I need you to know that you can always turn to me when you need, I will always be here for you," I hear Asami say gently as she crouches down next to my desk, her hand resting over my arm. I finally look up at her, and immediately the tears threaten to fall. I miss the soft, caring look that she now has in her eyes as she stares at me, seeing past every defensive wall I've put up around myself.

"Please talk to me," She whispers softly, her presence wrapping around me like a familiar comforting warm blanket.

"I miss them," I whisper, my voice breaking and a lone tear escaping down my cheek

"I know," she whispers back, her hand leaving my arm and moving to my face, wiping away the tear before caressing my cheek.

"I'm constantly reminded that I'm never going to see them again, and each time it hurts even more," I say, tears falling freely now, my heart tightening in my chest as memories of my siblings and my parents come flashing in my mind. Asami doesn't say anything. She doesn't need to say anything. She just listens, her hand tucking a stray hair behind my ear and her thumb softly caressing my cheek 

"It's so much sometimes, it's all just too much," I whisper before I break down completely, crumpling off my chair. Asami catches me, sitting down on the floor and pulling me into her lap, her arms wrapping around me and holding me together, letting me cry into her chest.

"It's okay Korra, it's okay," she whispers into my hair, her voice running over me like silk and somehow helping me to control my heaving chest, ”just let it out, I’ve got you.”

I gasp and sob for god knows how long, but Asami just holds me tight, whispering gently words into my hair. Eventually, I calm down, my eyes stingy from all the tears. I take very deep breaths, my face still tucked into the crook of Asami's neck, her perfume, and smell causing butterflies to flutter about nervously in my stomach.

I drawback, moving off of her lap, wiping my face. The knot in my chest and throat is gone, and I feel a lot better and more relaxed than before. Holding back a breakdown really can build up.

"I'm sorry," I mutter, embarrassed. As comfortable as I am with crying in front of Asami, I'm still ashamed to show weakness.

"About what?" She asks, slightly confused.

"I'm always breaking down in front of you," I say, "I must seem like such an over-emotional and fragile child.."

"Don't you ever say that again," she says, almost sharply, making me look up at her. I'm caught by surprise to see that her eyes are slightly red, tear marks run down her cheeks like she too has been crying. She continues, "very few people will ever experience the pain you have. You lost your family, the people you held most dear to you, and you watched the whole thing happen. You are the bravest and strongest woman I know.”

I stare at her, at a loss for words. No one has ever looked at me the way she does, or ever said something that made me feel so deeply. She also called me a woman. She doesn't see me as a child and for some reason, that means so much to me.

"You were crying," I state softly. She raises one of her hands and straightens out the slightly smudged mascara.

"I don't like seeing you in pain," she says quietly, "it breaks my heart."

I want nothing more than to kiss her. Not a sexual want, but an emotional want. I've never felt something so deep and so powerful to anyone before, and every cell in my body wants to move forward and kiss her because I don't have the words that could possibly tell her how I'm feeling. By the look in her eyes, I guess she feels the same way.

"I really want to kiss you," I whisper. A small smile hits across her lips, tugging at the corners of her beautiful eyes.

"I know how you feel," she whispers back, reaching a handout and laying it over mine, squeezing gently.

"This sucks," I mutter, gesturing between us.

"I know," she sighs, getting up off the floor and extending a hand to help me up to my feet.

"I'm sorry for being so... frustrating last week," I say, trying to hide a sly smile. She chuckles lightly, dusting her dress off and giving me a twinkling look.

"And I apologize for being so cold," she says, and I can see she means it.

"I don't like keeping my distance from you," I say, she nods slowly, seemingly contemplating.

"I don't like it either," she says slowly, "but if we're going to communicate and become closer, we need to promise each other to not let anything inappropriate happen between us, understood?" 

"Understood," I smile, feeling relieved. Even if I can have Asami in the way that I want I'd still rather have her in my life.

"By inappropriate do you mean no shoving your student against walls, whispering provocative things in their ear and then leaving them high and dry?" I ask, a smirk on my lips. Asami's eyes snap up to mine at my words, and I can see she's suppressing a sly smile that's tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Some ground rules," she says, straightening and putting on a stern face, "no flirtatious actions or comments. No referring back to what happened between us in the holidays. No talking about our feelings for each other, and by that, I mean any feelings we may experience."

"Yes Miss Sato," I say, hiding a smirk. I can't help it, I'm far too happy. Asami and I are talking again, and it makes everything that has started to seem daunting suddenly seem doable.

Her eyes flash over when the emotion I've come to recognize as lust, she stiffens slightly, as she always does when I call her by her last name. She looks as if she's about to reprimand me on something but then changes her mind. Instead, she shakes her head at me, a gentle smile on her face and turns around and makes her way back to her desk.

She faces me again and perches on the front of her desk, her arms folding loosely over her midsection.

"So these rumors that Azula spread," she begins and I groan, sitting down in my desk again. Its kind of crazy to think that minutes ago I was an emotional wreck, crying in Asami's arms. She always seems to pick me up again, making me feel normal and happy.

"They were just rumors," I sigh.

"I'm not stupid," she chuckles, tilting her head, "I'm wondering why Azula has it out for you."

"I have no idea," I say, playing with a pencil between my fingers, "probably because I refused to join her clique. Teenage girls are strange."

"Why didn't you defend yourself in Misses Hou-Ting's office?" She asks.

"I was feeling overwhelmed," I admit, "I was on the verge of a panic attack."

"Are you feeling better now?" She asks softly. I nod, my eyes darting up to meet hers, smiling a subtle 'thanks' to her. She returns a gentle and knowing smile.

"I don't really feel like doing math," I mutter, looking back down at the assignment on my desk. Asami laughs, the sound causing butterflies to go wild in my chest.

"Well I have a lot of marking that I'm getting behind on," She says, "you could help me with that?"

"Sure," I grin.

For the remainder of our hour, I help Asami mark assignments and talk. It's casual talk, nothing heavy, but I enjoy it anyways. It doesn't feel completely awkward between us, which is nice, although I can still feel the chemistry and sexual tension that hangs in the air. I know she feels it too, but we both ignore it, knowing that we can't do anything about it.

After our hour is up we head to practice together, and it feels nice, being able to talk to her. Of course, it's hard to not throw in a flirtatious comment here and there, sometimes I slip up and of course, she notices, but she lets them by, giving me a semi warning look.

Throughout play practice, I can't help but stare at her, and sometimes I catch her staring back. It's going to be hard to not treat her as anyone more than just my teacher, and I know it's going to be hard for her to see me as nothing more than just her student, but we have to try. I don't want her to lose her job and ruin her life because of me. And I can't keep my distance from her. Just by knowing that she's there for me has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. I need her in my life.


	24. Chapter 24

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 24  
\--  
Asami's POV

"Who here can give me a good example of a metaphor for pain?" I ask my year ten class, several hands slowly go up. I can't believe it's only

Tuesday, Monday in itself felt like a whole week. 

Before I can pick a student to answer my question there's a knock on the door.

"Come in," I call, heads swiveling around to see who the interrupter is.

"Sorry to disturb your class Miss Sato," Mako says, poking his head around the door and greeting the class, "good morning girls."

"Good morning Mr. Fire," several of the girls chime, their faces lighting up at the gorgeous art teacher.

"How can I help you, Mr. Fire?" I ask Mako, smiling at him.

"You're needed in Misses Hou-Tings office," he says, his smile faltering. I frown, pushing myself off my desk which I was leaning on.

I'm hardly ever called out of class unless it's something very serious.

"Read pages forty and forty-one and answer questions one, two, and three on page thirty-four in your workbooks, it will be for marks," I command my students as I make my way to the door, following Mako across the courtyard.

"What's going on?" I ask him as we make our way to the main office.

"One of the students was caught with weed in her bag," Mr. Fire explains, "one of the girls in your house."

"Who?" I ask, shocked, my mind immediately wondering to Kuvira and her group of friends. I've heard rumors about them doing drugs and smoking.

"Korra," he says, and my heart skips a beat, my breath hitching in my throat. What?!?

I'm too shocked to ask Mako any more questions as we walk to Hou-Ting’s office. There has to be a mistake, Korra? Weed? For some reason, I can't believe it.

"Ah, Mr. Fire and Miss Sato, nice of you to join us," Hou-Ting says as we enter her office. My eyes move to Korra, who is red in the face with anger, that I can see straight away. Next to her stands a really smug-looking Azula, and a nervous-looking eighth year.

"What's going on?" I ask immediately.

"Koko over here," Hou-Ting gestures to the eighth year, "overheard some of the girls in your house talking about marijuana. We did a random bag check and found a packet of it in Korra's bag."

"It's bullshit! I don't know how it got there!" Korra exclaims. "Watch your language young lady," Hou-Ting warns.

"Drug test me! You'll find that I'm clean! Someone must of put it in my bag!" Korra continues, and I know she's telling the truth. My eyes dart to Azula, who is looking oddly satisfied with herself.

"We will be drug testing you," Hou-Ting says, "however, you could be dealing drugs and not taking them. It is in the school policy that if a student is caught with any form of drugs or alcohol on them there will be immediate expulsion."

"Miss Sato you know I wouldn't do something like this," Korra turns to me, and my mind is racing at how I should act in this situation. I know Korra's telling the truth, but how do I help her? Judging by Azula's smug expression I know that she must have something to do with this...

"Have you left your bag unattended at all today?" I ask calmly. Korra thinks for a few moments.

"In the library during my free before they did the bag search. I went to the bathroom and left my bag and books behind," Korra says.

"Which section of the library?" I ask.

"At the desks in the main study area," she says slowly, starting to pick up on what I'm getting at.

"Good. There are cameras there," I say, turning to Misses Hou-Ting, "May I access the security room and have a look at the footage?" 

"I don't see why not," Hou-Ting says slowly. I notice that Azula's smug expression has been wiped from her face, and has been replaced by one of fear.

"I did it!" Koko, the eighth year, blurts out, bursting into tears. 

"What?" Exclaims Hou-Ting, turning to the small girl, clearly just as shocked as I am.

"I-I p-put the weed in K-Korra's bag," she sobs.

"Why on earth would you do that?" Hou-Ting asks, still shocked and confused. The girl remains quiet, sobbing into her hands. I approach her, resting a hand on her back and rubbing gently to comfort her.

"Did someone make you?" I ask her softly, sensing Azula stiffen next to me. Slowly the crying girl nods.

"Who?" I ask, to no prevail.

"Sweetie, you can tell me," I urge her in the same gentle tone. Slowly the girl raises a hand and points a finger to Azula, whose face is white.

"Azula..." Hou-Ting says, her eyes wide in shock. Quickly the shocked and surprised look turns to one of anger.

"Azula is this true?" Hou-Ting says dangerously, standing from her chair and making her way around her desk.

"N-no," Azula stammers.

"There will be an investigation. For now, Miss Sato can you escort Miss Waters back to her class. Koko and Azula, take seats. I want the whole story, and I want the truth," She snarls, clearly furious as she glares at Azula, who is pale and shaking, clearly in shock that she got caught.

I turn to Korra, who also looks surprised at the turn of events. She picks up her bag and follows me out of the office, Mr. Fire stays behind and closes the door once we exit

"Are you okay?" Ask her as soon as we've exited the office building.

"I'm fine now," she says, exhaling deeply. "What happened exactly?" I ask

"Misses Hou-Ting and a security member came into our Math class and said they were doing a random bag search. They found a bag of weed in my bag, and next thing I knew I was being whisked off to Misses Hou-Tings office," she explains, and then turns to me and says, "thank you for believing it wasn't me and getting that girl Koko to confess the truth."

"You're most welcome," I say with a smile, "I knew you were innocent, and when I saw how smug Azula looked I knew she had something to do with it.”

"What's going to happen to Azula?" She asks.

"This is a very serious situation," I say, thinking about it, "most likely she will be expelled. If she's lucky she will be suspended and have her position as head girl taken away from her."

"I know this will sound harsh but I hope she gets expelled," Korra says coldly, "she's a bitch to everyone, and look at what she did to try to get me in trouble just because she doesn't like me. First, the rumor spreading and now this.."

"As a teacher, I can only hope the best for my students," I chuckle before giving her a wink and adding, "but between me and you, I agree with you."

She laughs. By now we've reached her math class.

"Thank you for 'escorting' me to class," she says, making me smile. "You're welcome," I chuckle, "I'll see you after school in your detention."

"Wouldn't miss it," she winks and enters her class. I shake my head after her, a smile still on my lips.

The rest of the week goes by rather quickly and smoothly. I thought my daily detentions with Korra would be hard, but after our talk on Monday, everything is back to how it used to be. It's nice that we're talking again. I hated keeping my distance and being cold towards her.

Azula was expelled, and Koko, the eighth year who helped her even though she was probably forced too, was given a two week suspension and a final warning.

During the detentions, Korra has been helping me mark tests, essays, and assignments, which has lessened my workload. I still have to force myself to not flirt with her, and I often have to apply large amounts of will power to stop myself from kissing her.

Friday rolls around a lot sooner than I thought, then again I've had no time to kick back and relax at all this week. When I'm not teaching, then I'm marking papers, setting out syllabuses for future classes or I'm helping direct the play.

I'd almost forgot that I'd promised Zhu Li that I'd go on a double date with her, her husband Varrick, and a friend of theirs that they want to pair me up with. However, Zhu Li makes a note to remind me on Friday afternoon that we'll be going to dinner and a production in London on Saturday night.

"What are your plans for this weekend?" I ask Korra. At the moment she's helping me return books that had been borrowed throughout the week in the library.

"Going to London," She says, surprising me.

"Oh?" I say, looking over my shoulder at her. I've noticed that she tends to stay at school on the weekends.

"Yeah," She says, "Jin and Song have dragged me into their plans."

"Plans?" I ask, climbing down the step ladder I was on.

"Mmhmm," She hums, as if not wanting to elaborate any further on the subject, "what are your plans this weekend?"

"I have something on tomorrow night with Misses Moon," I say shortly, deciding it would be best not to tell Korra that I'm in fact going on a date. I know for sure that I would get jealous if she told me she was going on a date so soon, even though I'd have no right to be jealous.

"You're also taking advantage of the fact we don't have play practice this weekend?" She grins, and I smile and nod.

"Wow, we've been doing this for over an hour," Korra suddenly says, looking at the clock on the wall.

"Huh, maybe I should count this as one of your detentions, considering we've already had an hour today," I say.

"You don't have to," she says, turning and sliding another book in its place on the shelf, "I enjoy spending time with you."

I can't help but blush and smile to myself at her comment, turn my back on her so she won't see my reaction when she turns around.

"However I should probably go pack," I hear Korra say, "Aiwei is picking me up in an hour."

"Sure sweetie," I say over my shoulder to her, "thank you for the help. Have a great weekend, I'll see you on Monday."

"Have a good weekend too, Miss," She says, heading out the library, throwing me one last smile and leaving one last slightly flirtatious comment before she disappears, "try not to miss me."

I smirk and her comment, replying in my mind I won't make any promises.

***

Korra's POV

A cold breeze rushes through London's lamp-lit streets, and yet again I thank the fact I decided to wear a leather jacket. In front of me, Jin is walking hand-in-hand with her boyfriend Lee and behind me, Song is holding a nervous conversation with the guy Jin is setting her up with. Next to me is the guy I'm supposed to be paired up with. His name is Chan. He's tall, dark hair and eyes and rather reserved and quiet. I'm assuming he's nervous.

I still can't believe I was dragged into this. My plans were to stay at school, study, and watch Netflix. However, Jin has something else in mind.

She was planning with her boyfriend, Lee, to set Song up with one of Lee's friends, Ruon-Jian. However, Lee also asked if Jin could find another one of her friends to be set up with Chan, another one of his friends. That's where I come into play.

Maybe if a certain raven-haired green-eyed woman hadn't stolen my heart and moved into my thoughts, I might even give Chan a chance.

I'll have to let Chan know at some point during tonight that the most I can be to him is a friend. I definitely don't want to lead him on.

"So you're from South Africa?" Chan finally breaks the silence between us.

"Yeah," I say, still caught up in my own thoughts.

"The weather here must seem pretty cold," he states, and I nod.

"Do you miss it? South Africa I mean," he says, still trying to hold a conversation.

"Some parts of it," I say, wishing he would pick another topic. I don't like thinking about home, it makes me think about my family, and that's the last thing I want to be thinking about tonight. By now we've entered the restaurant that Jin and Lee picked out and booked.

Jin tells a waitress our reservation and she leads us through the relatively busy restaurant.

My mind is still busy thinking of Asami as we walk through the restaurant, thinking back on all the time we've spent together this past week during my detentions. So, when my eyes rest on the familiar face of my English teacher, it doesn't quite register.

Not until her soft green eyes lock with mine.

I nearly stumble, and if I wasn't for Chan who walks behind me, I probably would've stopped in my tracks and he would've walked into me, however, his hand which rests on the small of my back like a gentleman keeps me moving.

She also looks completely taken aback. I tear my gaze from hers, my heart hammering in my chest. What the fuck is she doing here?

We arrive at our table and take our seats, my eyes scanning the room until the rest on Asami, who's gaze is still fixed on me.

I remember her telling me she has plans with Misses Moon. I look at the faces of the other people who sit at Asami's table, seeing Misses Moon who sits next to a man in his fifties. I assume that he is her husband. My eyes move to the fourth member at their table, and I'm met with the face of a rather handsome man, around his early thirties. My heart drops in my chest as my mind puts two and two together.

"Korra?" I hear Jin's voice, calling me back to reality. I look away from Asami and turn my attention back to my own table. Jin and Song are looking at me with slight concern.

"Is everything okay?' Song asks, and I nod, forcing a smile on my face.

"Yeah everything's great, I just thought I saw Miss Sato and Misses Moon," I say, and the two girls swivel their heads and scan the restaurant.

"Omg, that is Miss Sato!" Jin gasps. "Who?" Lee asks, frowning.

"Our English teacher and housemaster at school," Song explains to the confused boys.

"That's so awkward! I mean what are the odds she would be here at the same restaurant we're at," Jin says.

"Is she on a date!? Who's that man next to her?" Song giggles, noticing the man next to Asami.

"She must be on a date!" Jin exclaims. There's a sharp twist in my heart at their words. So I wasn't overthinking. It does indeed seem like she is on a date. My eyes meet Asami's again, and we hold our gaze for a few moments before her eyes flicker to Chan, who sits next to me. My heart skips a beat as I realize that it's fairly obvious that she's not the only one on a date...

The man next to her leans over and says something, causing her to look away from me and turn her attention to him. Jealously rushes through my veins and I have to force back the sudden anger that takes over me.

Throughout dinner, I can't help but cast glances in Asami's direction. She looks so beautiful. Her raven hair is tied up in an elegant bun, leaving her perfect jawline and collar bone exposed. She's wearing a black dress that hugs her figure delicately, making her look even more sophisticated than normal. I don't blame the man next to her for looking at her with adoring and lusting eyes, but it makes me jealous. I wish had the right to tell him off. I wish she was mine.

It does give me some pleasure to see that she doesn't seem at all interested in the conversation he is trying to hold. In fact, I catch her staring at me more times then she looks at him.

Asami's table finishes their dinner before we do, and I watch with slight disdain and annoyance as they stand, the man with Asami placing his hand on her lower back, and leave the restaurant. I remember that Chan had done the exact same thing with me when we had entered the restaurant, and I wonder if Asami had felt the same jealous I do.

Shortly after we finish our dinner we make our way out into the cold night, the other five members of my party in some sort of cheerful conversation. I, however, can't get the image of Asami with the man out my head. It makes me feel sick to think of her with someone else.

"Korra, you okay? You were basically silent throughout dinner," Song says to me, quietly enough so that no one else pays attention.

"Yeah I'm okay," I say halfheartedly. She gives me a skeptical look.

Jin and Lee lead the way to the theatre where the production we're seeing is, and we join the queue to get in. Low and behold, who do I immediately spot standing further down in the queue? Asami. With her annoyingly handsome date.

God must hate me. I mean, what are the odds that I'd run into Asami in a city as large as London? First, we happened to be at the same restaurant and now, out of all the productions everywhere in this city,

we're seeing the same play? 

I can't help but laugh at the chances of my unlucky situation.

"What are you laughing at?" Jin asks with a puzzled look on her face.

"It looks like Misses Moon and Miss Sato are also seeing the same play as us," I say. Song and Jin look down the line of people and spot our two teachers.

"What a coincidence," Song says, raising an eyebrow in surprise. I decide to distract myself from Asami and her date by making a proper conversation with Chan. It doesn't quite work as a distraction but at least Chan seems to be able to hold a decent conversation. Unlike most boys I've met, he at least has a few interesting things to say that don't involve a sport of some kind.

Soon we're inside the theatre, and I'm grateful to be out of the cold. We find our seats, which are relatively close to the stage with a fairly good view. Without meaning to I scan the crowds of faces that are either sitting and chatting or making their way between the tightly fitted seating to their own seats. My eyes quickly find Asami, who stands out to me like the full moon in a dark sky.

Her eyes are already on me, and even though she's halfway across the theatre I swear I see jealously shinning in her gentle green orbs.

"What are your plans for next year?" Chan asks, cashing me to pull my gaze away from Asami and turn my attention to him. We talk for a while until the lights dim, indicating the play will begin soon. All the talk and laughter dies down throughout the theatre, and excited anticipation hangs in the air.

The play commences, and I have to say I enjoy it right from the start. It's called Kinky Boots, and it's about a drag queen who struggles with his high heels, so he works with a man who owns a boot company to design the perfect heels for men. It's a perfect mix of comedy and progressive thinking, and on any other day I would've given all my attention to watching the actors on the stage, I continuously find my eyes wandering to the beautiful raven-haired woman who sits twenty meters away. Even from this distance, she is easily the most captivating, angelic woman in the room, and as it usually does, my mind starts to wonder to inappropriate places.

I thank the lord that I'm in an aisle seat because after several minutes of inappropriate images of Asami flashing through my mind I decide I need to splash my face with some cold water and get some fresh air.

I enter the bathroom, which is empty save for one stall, which is occupied. I lean against the sink, staring at my reflection and hating myself for falling for a forbidden woman. The only woman I want but can't have.

I hear the door of the closed stall open, and I look down at the sink, turning on the tap and letting the cold water run over my fingers, my thoughts still occupied.

"I'm starting to think you're stalking me," a familiar silver voice startles me, causing me to look up sharply. I nearly jump out of my skin when I lock eyes, for the umpteenth time tonight, with Asami.

"Jesus," I mutter, letting out a nervous laugh.

"Didn't mean to startle you," she chuckles. There's an almost smug smile on her lips. She always looks intimidatingly sexy when she looks smug or sly. It drives me insane.

Awkward yet sexual tension fills the air as we both wash our hands.

"I'm not on a date," I blurt out, feeling her look up and stare at me through the reflection in the mirror. I have no idea why I feel like I need to explain myself.

"I mean technically I am, but I don't want to be... I was kind of forced on it.. and it's not going to go anywhere," I continue to ramble on, my face becoming hotter with each word. I curse at myself in my head for being so awkward. Why couldn't I just shut up...

"You don't have to explain," She says softly, focusing on her hands. We resume the silence. We've both long since finished washing our hands, but both of us are stalling as if neither wants to leave.

"Your date... seems handsome," I say stiffly, clearing my throat. In my head, there's my common sense telling me to shut up, but of course, I ignore it.

I feel Asami's eyes on me again, and I can tell that she wants to say something, but seems to be holding back.

The jealously from seeing Asami with that man returns, bubbling inside me. Jealously is very similar to lust, I've discovered. It takes away most self-control.

I move over towards Asami, leaning across her and reaching for the paper towels, making sure to brush her lightly. She stiffens at my close proximity.

I lock eyes with her, remaining a few inches away, and dry my hands slowly.

"Whenever he touches you, I want you to think of my hands and how they felt on your skin," I say quietly, keeping eye contact. I move forward slightly, closing the gap until were merely millimeters apart. Her eyes have darkened slightly and her chest is moving with more shallow breaths. I smirk when her eyes dart down to my lips.

"And if he kisses you, I want you to think of how much softer my lips are," I whisper. She's no longer the confident, sophisticated woman from earlier. Under my close presence, she's shrunk back, seemingly powerless under my words. Knowing I have this effect makes me smirk more. It also turns me on more. I move my mouth to her ear, letting my lips brush her skin as I whisper one last thing.

"And tonight, while you're lying in bed, let the memory of my lips on your clit drive you wild," She lets out a soft whimper at my words. I move my lips down, kissing her softly on her neck once. I pull away and turn on my heel, leaving her in a lusting haze standing in front of the bathroom mirror.

I exit the bathroom, my heart pounding against my chest and adrenaline pumping in my veins at what I just did. I have no idea what came over me, but by now I'm sort of used to it. Asami has that kind of effect on me, making my attraction towards her feel so unavoidable and impossible to ignore.

Seeing her at school on Monday is going to be torture...


	25. Chapter 25

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 25  
\--  
Asami's POV

The two weeks that follow the incident in the bathroom at the theatre pass by relatively quickly.

My days are full of teaching, marking assignments, homework, and tests, or at play practice. I find myself so immersed in my work that I hardly notice the weather changing from warm and sunny to windy and cool.

I hoped that if I focused more on my job, I wouldn't think about a certain dark-haired girl. However, my feelings for Korra haven't subsided in the least. If anything they've grown stronger.

There isn't a night that goes by when I don't toss and turn in my bed, my body aching for her touch. 

It's not just her touch that I miss. I miss being able to talk to her, to spend time with her. Often I think back to our few days in Brighton. It feels so long ago now.

In class, I struggle to not stare at her while they do classwork in silence. For these past two weeks, she seems more serious. Quiet. Drawn back. It pains me to not know what's going on in that complicated mind of hers.

We haven't spoken a word to each other in private. The remainder of the detentions she had with me were canceled. After the whole incident with Azula, Misses Hou-Ting didn't think the detentions were necessary.

I think Korra and I both have a mutual understanding. We can't be anything more to each other than teacher and student. It's been made clear to the both of us that our attraction to each other, physical and mental, is too strong. Being friends isn't an option. We both realized that.

After the bathroom incident, I had absolutely no interest in my date. Not that I had any interest in him in the first place. It's hard to even find someone else attractive in that sort of way when your heart belongs to someone else.

I can only hope that Korra is doing okay. I really pray that she finds it in herself to trust her friends in the way she trusts me. She needs someone to open up to.

I think back again to my year twelve English class that I had at the beginning of today. Korra hadn't shown. I've had class after class so I haven't had any time to go look for her. It's not usual for girls to bunk lessons, however, Korra hasn't bunked any of my classes before.

"Miss Sato?" One of my year eleven students calls me out of my thoughts. I return my attention to my class, who is looking at me expectantly. I clear my throat and shake my head.

"Sorry," I chuckle, slightly embarrassed, "excuse me, girls, it's been a long day."

"It's alright Miss, it's just that it's the end of the lesson.. should we finish the essay for homework?" Another girl says. My eyes dart to the clock on the wall to see that she is telling the truth. It's the end of the lesson and nearly the end of the school day. One more lesson... and that happens to be the year twelve English Literature class. One of my classes with Korra...

"Yes, complete it for homework and hand it in during the next lesson," I say, smiling at my students. I watch them pack up and leave the class, and not long after the classroom has cleared out, my year twelves start filing in. I smile back at several of the girls who greet me.

My eyes continue to scan all the students until everyone, save one, has taken their seat.

"Where is Korra?" I ask after a minute has passed since the lesson was supposed to commence. No answer. Although I notice Song and Jin glance at each other.

"Jin, Song? Do either of you know where Miss Waters might be?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at them.

"She's.. she's not feeling well," Jin says, throwing another nervous glance at her friend Song. I frown.

"I was not alerted that she was sick," I say. When one of the students is sick and in the sickbay, the teachers are usually made aware.

"Miss today is.. umm..." Song tries, looking around the class hesitantly as if she doesn't want to speak out loud in front of anyone.

"Today is what?" I ask.

"It's the anniversary..." Jin tries. My heart begins to sink slowly as I start to realize what it is the two girls are subtlety trying to tell me.

"It's her family's anniversary..." Jin says, and my heart drops in my chest. I resist the urge to facepalm myself with a metal chair. 

"I understand," I nod at the girls once, "thank you for letting me know."

My heart is racing in my chest. How could I have been so stupid?! I should've saved the date of Korra's anniversary of her family's death! My instincts are screaming at me to run out of my classroom to go find her. There is no way she could be handling this well, especially because she likes to keep things to herself. I'm the only one she trusts enough to open up to, and I'm not there for her. The guilt hits me like a truck and I struggle to keep my composure.

"Alright girls, please turn to page eighty in your poetry books and read the poem that covers the next three pages. I want you to analyze it and write a nine hundred word essay on the writer's use of language and intention. Emphasis on the use of old English and how it creates atmosphere," I say, deciding to give my students something to do that doesn't require my presence. 

"I'll be back in a few minutes. If I hear about any noise or misbehavior there will be a test next lesson and I'll make it extremely hard," I warn, meeting all their eyes with a serious and stern look before I sweep out the classroom.

I walk fast, cursing at myself for wearing heels. There are only certain speeds one can reach while wearing stilettos and fast does not fall in that category.

I enter the dorm house and swiftly make my way up to the fourth landing, slowing down as I near Korra's room.

The door is shut, and I knock hesitantly. After several seconds of no reply, I open the door slowly, my eyes falling on Korra who is curled on her bed, her back facing me.

"Korra?” I call softly. She doesn't respond.

I enter the room and shut the door behind me. Carefully I make my way over to her bed and sit on the edge.

"Honey, talk to me," I say gently. I can sense she's awake. I rest a hand on her leg.

"I'm sorry I bunked class," she says. Her voice is rough like she's been crying. My heart breaks slightly.

"Are you okay?" I ask, knowing the answer. She starts to shake, and I know she's crying again. Slowly I move to lie down next to her, curling my body around hers and sliding my arm around her waist, not caring about the inappropriateness of my actions or that at any moment someone could walk in. Right now, Korra needs me and that's all I care about.

"Don't you have a class right now?" She asks, her voice shaky.

"It doesn't matter," I say softly. She turns in my arms and she snakes her arms around my waist, tucking her face in the crook of my neck and pulling her body into me. I wrap my arms around her too, holding her tight and rubbing her back with the palm of one of my hands.

We lie in silence for a while, Korra crying on and off into my chest.

"Why didn't you call me earlier?" I ask into her hair softly.

"I don't know where we stand," she whispers, her breath tickling my neck which is wet from her fears.

"Whenever you need me, call me," I whisper back, hugging her tighter.

"I need you always," I hear her whisper so quietly that I'm not sure if she wanted me to hear.

"How are you feeling?" I say after a few more minutes of silence. She seems to have calmed down somewhat since I arrived.

"I'm not sure," she answers, her voice coarse.

"Are you thinking about them?" I ask, and she knows who I'm referring to.

"Always," she answers.

I know what she's thinking. She's thinking about how she feels like the accident is her fault.

"It's not your fault Korra," I say gently.

"I find that hard to believe," she mutters.

"They deserved to live," she says, almost angrily.

"If you could say something to them, what would you say?" I ask. She remains quiet for a few moments as she thinks about my question.

"That I love them.. and I miss them. A lot. That the world is significantly more empty without them... I'd tell them... that I'm sorry," she says. Her voice doesn't quiver or shaky. It's firm. This is what I admire about Korra the most, her ability to stay strong and secure. She can pick herself up and gather herself together no matter how hard she's been kicked down, a quality not many have.

"What would they say back to you?" I ask, my hand moving from her back to her hair, my fingers delicately playing with her hair.

"They'd tell me they love me... maybe not Desna. He'd tell me I stink, but I know that means he loves me. My dad would tell me to never give up Math because Math is the only thing that's consistent and consistency in a life of chaos is something to hold on too when things don't make sense. My mom would tell me to never give up on the things that I love. Eska would tell me to eat more Oreos because she believed Oreos are unicorn food," she starts laughing softly, and I can't help but smile. There's beauty in the way that she talks about her family.

She draws back from the crook of my neck and looks at me softly.

"Thank you," She says softly. I smile at her, my heart skipping a beat. Even though her eyes are red, there are tear stains down her cheeks, and her face is bare of makeup, she still looks so rare and beautiful.

"Feel better?" I ask.

"I feel stable," she says, "so I'm on my way to possibly feeling better, I hope."

"I wish I could tell you that it gets easier," I sigh, moving my hand to tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. In doing so, I pretend to not notice the blush flow through her cheeks.

"I'm sorry I keep messing things up between us..." she says, changing the subject slightly. I know she means she feels bad about coming on too me repeatedly.

"I don't blame you," I continue, "and I don't mean that in a cocky way. I mean you have less to lose," I sigh, sitting up. She sits up with me.

I continue, "if anyone finds out what happened between us, I would face severe consequences. If we were together, the consequences could be even worse. Trust me Korra, if this situation were different I'd look past our age gap and give us a chance without a second glance. If people found out about a teacher and a student sleeping together they would label me as a sex offender and lock me up. I'm terrified of ruining not only my life but yours. It would reflect badly on you, the school, my family.." 

"You're not a sex offender," Korra says, scowling. I chuckle lightly.

"I'm glad you think so," I say, smiling at her. She lets out a deep breath and looks down at her hands.

"I understand where you're coming from... I really do... I'm sorry for being selfish and not thinking about how everything could ruin your life," she says.

"You're not selfish," I say, cupping her chin and directing her to look at me, "trust me, baby, I find it increasingly hard to keep my hands and feelings to myself." 

She smiles, her cheeks tinting. I draw my hand back and smile too as I realize that I did just call her 'baby.' However, her reaction to the nickname was adorable...

"Every time we talk and agree to keep our feelings to the side and remain professional, something always happens and we don't talk for days," Korra says, her smile falling from her lips, "so... what are we going to do? I need you in my life Asami, more then you know..."

My heart skips several beats at her words and I have to purse my lips and look at my lap to stop myself from disobeying the rules and leaning forward to kiss her.

"I need you in my life too, Korra. It kills me to not know how you're doing," I say softly, "and I wish I knew the answer to your question, however, I'm just as new to this situation as you are. I've never had these feelings for a student before."

"So we’ll just have to figure it out as we go," Korra states. She looks saddened, and I feel the same way.

"Enough of this talk," I sigh, "how are you feeling? Are you going to be alright?"

"I'm okay... much better then I was," she puts on a tired smile, "you should probably get back to your class... it's nearly the end of the lesson."

I glance at the clock and see that she's right.

"I’ll come by and check on you later," I say, standing and straightening my dress, "try to get some sleep for now."

"Thank you.. for everything," Korra says, and I can tell by the look in her cerulean eyes exactly what she means by 'everything.'

"Never underestimate how much I care about you," I say, leaning down and placing a gentle and soft kiss on her forehead.

"Now get some sleep Korra Waters," I say, standing up and pointing to her pillow. A smile cracks on her features, and she salutes me playfully.

"Yes Ma'am," She says, climbing under the covers. I laugh at her words.

I exit her room, lingering for a few moments at the door with my hand on the handle. I look back at Korra, and her gaze meets mine. She smiles softly, and I return the smile, our locked eyes sharing all the things we wish we could say.

I close the door slowly, resting my forehead against the cold wooden surface and shutting my eyes, taking several breaths, and gathering myself together.

Another six months of having Korra at arm's length and not being able to touch her in the way that I want to. How on earth am I going to manage?


	26. Chapter 26

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 26  
\--

One month later - The night of the play and two weeks before term 2 ends and Christmas break starts.

Korra's POV

I peek through the curtain at the hundreds of people taking their seats in the bustling auditorium.

I feel giddy in my stomach. Anxious butterflies attack my insides like hungry wolves. I knew that nearly a thousand people had brought tickets for the opening night, I just didn't picture exactly how many people would come to watch.

I draw back from the curtain and take several deep breaths. I can't let nerves get to me, not when I have several solos to sing and many lines to speak.

For the past month, we've been practicing like crazy for this play. Rehearsal after rehearsal until every cast member knew every single line there is in the script.

We're ready. In fact, we're more than ready. Our costumes are all unbelievably incredible, and the backdrops are amazing. The backstage crew has perfectly mastered scene changes and everyone knows what they're doing.

"Five minutes till opening scene! Everyone, take your places!" The backstage director calls out. I make my way to the end of the stage and out of sight.

"Hey, are you feeling nervous?" Yue asks me.

"No," I lie, giving her a reassuring smile. Yue is more than nervous. "You'll do great," I say, pulling her into a hug.

"There are so many people," she says anxiously.

"Don't focus on them," I say, "pretend it's another rehearsal."

"Scene one! Take your places!" We hear the stage director yell.

"I better get going," Yue says, taking a deep breath and straightening out her costume.

"I'll see you on stage," I say, "good luck."

"You too," she says and disappears off. Backstage is rather dark, but after all the time we've spent in this theatre and on the stage we all know backstage like the back of our hands.

“Are you doing okay?" A familiar smooth voice says, and I look around to find the beautiful face of my English teacher. It's dark, but my eyes have adjusted enough to see her.

"I'm a little nervous," I admit.

"That's alright, but you'll do fine. You're the best actor in this cast," she says, and I laugh.

"Picking favorites are we, Miss Sato," I chuckle.

"Maybe," she winks playfully. For the last four weeks, we haven't spoken again about our feelings. We've spent a fair amount of time together, whether I was helping her in the library or in the gardens on Sundays, or even helping her mark papers when we both shared free periods. Somehow, I've managed not to flirt, at least for the most part. We've also somehow maintained a professional relationship, in the sense that we've kept our feelings to ourselves and resisted the urges to rip off each other’s clothing.

"There's a lot of people," I say, looking around the curtain again and catching a glimpse of the nearly full auditorium.

"Yes, there are," She says, "but don't focus on them."

"You know there's only one person that will be out there worth focusing on," I say, and before I can help myself, I turn my attention on her, "it's impossible for me to notice anyone else in a room if you're there."

Her eyes soften slightly, her cheeks tinting. I still find it crazy how I can make this grown, sophisticated, beautiful woman blush.

"Use that to your advantage," she says, a smile forming on her lips, "focus on me and you won't freeze up."

"Korra?!" I hear someone call from the other side of the stage near the dressing rooms.

"I better go see what that's about," I say.

"And I better go take a seat," Asami says, "nearly time for these curtains to open. Good luck"

"Thank you, I'm going to need it," I chuckle nervously. I turn and start walking towards the changing and makeup rooms; however, I'm stopped as Asami's hand lands on my waist and pulls me back to her. Before I know what's happening, I feel her lips on mine, but before I can respond she pulls back.

"For luck," She whispers against my lips, her minty cool breath brushing my skin. She moves past me and disappears into the darkness, giving me no time to register what just happened.

I raise my hand to my face, my fingers brushing my lips which still tingle from her unexpected kiss. I forgot how soft her lips were, and how exhilarating her kisses felt. My face heats up and a shy smile appears on my face.

I force myself to concentrate and focus purely on the play and being The Artful Dodger, pushing the thoughts of Asami and her surprise kiss to the back of my mind.

The play goes by smoothly and with no hiccups, and before I know it, I'm bowing with the rest of the cast in front of a standing ovation, however, my eyes only stare at one person.

She's standing, a wide and proud smile on her face and her soft green eyes are locked with mine. My heart swells in my chest

The cast makes their way to the changing rooms where we get dressed in normal clothes before joining everyone in the foyer, where everyone who came to watch the production is socializing over snacks and tea. There are several important people here, even some royal blood and a few celebrities, which is no surprise. Kyoshi Academy is the best of the best when it comes to private schools, not just in Europe but in the world.

I make my way through the crowd, smiling and repeating 'thank you' over and over as many of the students, parents, teachers, and others congratulate me on my performance. Eventually, my eyes land on the raven-haired beauty I was searching for, my heart beating fast at just the sight of her laughing and smiling in her conversation.

I make my way over to Asami, who stands with Mako and Hou-Ting and a few others who I recognize as some of the millionaire parents of some of the students.

"Korra!" Mako exclaims when he sees me, throwing hands in the air.

"Hello Mr. Fire," I laugh.

"A marvelous performance from my favorite student!" The art teacher beans at me, patting me on the back. My eyes move to Asami, who is staring at me with a soft, knowing smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes. The air is snatched out of my lungs just at the way she looks at me.

"Indeed, truly you were meant for the spotlight," Misses Hou-Ting nods.

"Thank you, Ma'am," I smile politely, slightly taken aback. That's possibly the nicest thing the elderly principal has ever said to me.

"Ah yes, you played The Artful Dodger," one of the men says, "you did a marvelous job."

"Thank you, sir," I smile at him with the same polite smile.

"Is your godfather here tonight?" Hou-Ting directs at me, looking around as if expecting to see him.

"I'm afraid not Ma'am," I say, "he's away on business. He'll be here on the last night though."

"Who is your godfather?" Another one of the men asks me curiously.

"Bolin Earth," Hou-Ting answers for me, proudly, as if it's an achievement to have the goddaughter of the most successful businessman in Europe.

"You're his goddaughter?" The man says in surprise, turning to me with raised eyebrows. I shift my position, trying not to feel uncomfortable.

"Yes sir," I say, averting my eyes to the floor. I wonder if I'll be able to ever lift out of my godfather’s shadow and be more than Bolin Earth’s goddaughter.

"Korra, can you help me with something?" Asami says suddenly before the men can ask me any questions about Bolin. She throws everyone an apologetic smile, "excuse us."

"Sure Miss Sato," I say grateful and follow her away from the men and Misses Hou-Ting. I follow her all the way out the foyer into the cold night. My eyes dart to Asami's bare shoulders, and I take note that she doesn't have her jacket on her.

"Thank you," I say grateful that she helped me escape that awkward situation. She knows how I feel about talking about my personal life, including the fact that my legal guardian is one of the most famous and wealthy men in the world.

"Don't mention it," She says, giving me one of her heart-stopping smiles. I shrug off my jacket and before she can stop me, I drape it over her shoulders.

"Korra-" She begins to protest.

"I insist," I Say and gesture at myself, "I have long sleeves on." She looks at me skeptically before letting a smile slip through.

"Thank you," She says softly. I feel myself blush and I look away, even though I know she noticed. I think back to before the play started when she kissed me.

"About earlier..." Asami starts to say as if she read my mind.

"We don't have to talk about it," I say.

"I shouldn't have..." she begins but I cut her short.

"I'm glad you did. Let's leave it at that," I say, looking up at the stars. She watches me for a few seconds before turning gaze up to the sky too.

"You did incredible tonight," She says softly. I smile. I've received many compliments so far, but hearing it come from her actually means something to me.

"Thank you," I say, glancing at her and winking, "I had a great director."

She laughs lightly, the sound sending the butterflies in my chest into a frenzy.

"Another three nights to go before you'll officially be done with this play," She says, hugging my jacket around her and staring up into the night sky, her eyes twinkling in the moonlight. My eyes scan the perfect outlines of her features, lingering on her defined jawline, and the smooth skin of her neck.

"Yeah, I'm kind of looking forward to it," I chuckle, forcing my eyes back to the stars, "after all this play practice, I'm kind of sick of Oliver Twist."

"I don't blame you," she mutters, "I am too."

“Although, I'm not looking forward to exams in the next two weeks," I sigh. I've been so busy with play practice that I've had very little time to study for my mock exams.

"Don't stress too much," Asami says, giving me a reassuring smile, her eyes turning to meet mine, "judging by your grades, you'll do just fine."

"I hope so," I laugh nervously, looking down at my feet.

"A little birdy might've told me something," she says, changing the topic, a playful smirk on her face.

"What did the birdy tell you?" I ask, frowning in confusion and curiosity.

"Apparently it's someone's eighteenth birthday next week," She says, poking me in my ribs and wiggling her eyebrows. I groan.

"I tried so hard to keep that under wraps..." I sigh, rolling my eyes, "who told you?"

"Jinora," she laughs, "but that's all I'm telling you… are you not a fan of birthdays?"

"Not necessarily," I sigh, "you know how I am about personal things..."

"Is that the only reason?" She asks softly, seeing right through my walls.

"My family used to make a big deal about birthdays… they used to wake me up at one minute past midnight and we'd eat cake and they'd go through all my embarrassing photos and videos and then we'd watch a movie and cuddle all together," I smile softly as the memories of all my birthdays before the accident flash by. As usual, Asami listens to me talk, paying me all her attention.

“Your friends care about you a lot... maybe it's time to make new birthday traditions," Asami says softly, cracking a small smile and adding, "they may or may not be planning something."

"What are they planning?" I ask immediately.

"I'm not telling you," she laughs and winks.

"Oh, come on, act surprised," I beg, making her laugh more. "No Korra," she chuckles, "I've already told you enough."

"I hate surprises," I groan.

"Tough shit," she laughs. I fake gasp and clutch my chest. "Miss Sato, did you just cuss?" I say, acting shocked. "I would never do such a thing," she smirks, feigning offense.

"Miss Sato," someone calls from the foyer door several meters behind us, and we turn our heads to see Jin, "Mr. Omashu is looking for you."

"Tell him I'm coming," Asami answers, taking my jacket off her shoulders and handing it to me.

"Thank you for the jacket," she says, and I smile, taking it from her and pulling it back on.

"You're welcome. Thank you for the good luck charm," I say, making her look at me sharply, but I notice the sly smile on her lips.

"You're welcome," She says, her eyes lingering on me for a few seconds, the sly smile tugging at the corners of her eyes. She turns and makes her way to the foyer, and my eyes follow her, unintentionally glancing down to her ass. I bite my lip, smirking to myself, and my heart thudding in my chest.

***

The fourth and final night of the production of Oliver Twist.

"There's my talented goddaughter!" I hear Bolin’s booming voice. I smile and turn to see my godfather with a proud beaming smile on his face. He engulfs me in one of his comforting embraces and I hug him back, happy that he managed to take time out of his busy schedule to come to watch the play. He might not have any experience in parenting, nor does he have any idea how to be a guardian, but he really tries and that's all that matters.

"I'm so proud of you, kiddo," he says, pulling back with his hands on my shoulders, looking down at me with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, Bo," I say, feeling touched.

"They would be too," he says softly. And I swallow, burying down the emotions that rush up at his words. I look around Bo as I notice a familiar dark-haired woman and can't help but smile.

"Hi there, Opal," I laugh, and she pushes Bo out the way and pulls me into a tight hug.

"Korra! I've missed your pretty face!! And omg your acting skills are on another level!!" She shrieks, making me laugh more.

"Thank Opal," I chuckle.

"Where's my giant roommate," Opal says, looking around in the crowded foyer.

"I'm not sure," I say, looking around too.

"I'm going to go find her," Opal mutters, "Little bitch hasn't come to say hi to me yet."

I laugh and watch Opal storm off in amusement.

"Korra, I need to speak to you about something," Bo says, and I turn my attention back on him.

"Sure," I say, waiting for him to continue.

"You know how busy I am... and you know I'm not used to having holidays, even around Christmas time..." he says, scratching behind his head and looking guilty, "and… as much as I want to spend Christmas with you, I really can't get out of this one conference in Russia."

"Bo it's okay, I understand," I say, giving him a reassuring smile, even though I feel slightly disappointed... and anxious. I've been dreading Christmas, just like how I am dreading my birthday. Both are days I used to spend with my family.

"I'm really sorry Korra, I'm going to make it up to you I promise," he says, and I can see how bad it feels, "I've been speaking to your aunt in Scotland and your grandmother in South Africa, they both would love to have you over for Christmas. I'll fly you to either one."

"I'll think about it," I say, knowing I'd rather spend Christmas by myself then go to either my aunt or grandmother.

"Let me know," he says, smiling at me widely, "again, I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing Bo, it's fine," I say, just as Opal returns with Asami. My heart skips in my chest and my stomach does several flips as it usually does when I see Asami.

"I found her!" Opal says triumphantly.

"Hello Asami," Bo says, leaning in and kissing her cheek.

"Hello Bo, nice to see you again," she says, giving him a smile. Her eyes move and meet mine, and my cheeks flush, my heart rate increasing. Asami just has that effect on me.

"Hello Korra, happy to finally be finished with this play?" She asks me, and I nod.

"Definitely," I grin.

"Bo and I are gonna go get a drink at the pub in town down the road, want to join us?" Opal says, turning to Asami.

"I've got to keep an eye on these misbehaving girls," Asami sighs, giving me a fake skeptical look.

"I'm a saint," I say innocently. All three adults laugh at my words.

"Even if you were," Asami smirks, "there are some other girls who are far from it."

"Well then, we'd better get going baby," Bo turns to Opal.

"I'll see you in two weeks Korra," he says, giving me another bear hug.

I watch Asami and Opal say goodbye before Opal takes Bo’s arm and they leave.

"They make a good couple," Asami comments, and I smile in agreement.

"I think this is the longest I've ever seen him with one woman," I add. "Opal tells me she thinks it's getting serious," Asami chuckles.

"Imagine that your best friend and my godfather getting married," I muse.

"She needs a powerful man who doesn't feel intimidated by her success," Asami says.

"And he needs a strong woman to give him a bit of a challenge," I say, and Asami and I smile at each other. Asami's smile falters and a small frown etched itself on her forehead.

"Is everything okay?" She asks.

"Yeah," I lie, looking down at my hands.

"I don't even know why you bother lying to me," Asami says, making me look up at her again to see her eyebrows raised expectantly.

I look around the foyer at all the people, and Asami gets the message and nods her head towards the exit. I follow her outside and we walk side by side up the hill towards the dorm houses.

"I'm dreading Christmas," I admit. "Why is that?" She asks.

"Well besides the fact that it's a family holiday and therefore a terrible holiday on its own for me, Bo is going to be out of town," I say.

"Are you going to fly back to Cape Town and spend Christmas with the extended family you have down there?" She asks.

"I can either visit my homophobic, conservative aunt and her family in Scotland or I can fly down to South Africa and spend Christmas with my self-absorbed, condescending, narcissistic, manipulative grandmother and her boyfriend," I sigh, pulling my jacket around me tighter as a cold wind sweeps through.

"Do you not have any pleasant family?" Asami asks, shocked.

"Not that I’m aware of," I sigh. We walk in silence for a few moments and I glance over at Asami to see she's biting her lip and frowning, obviously thinking about something.

"Spend Christmas with me," She blurts out.

"What?" I ask in surprise, stopping and turning to look at her.

"Spend Christmas with me," She says with more certain, "after all, my parents still think we're 'dating,’ plus I'd rather let you have a pleasant Christmas than be forced to spend it with such dreadful family members."

"Asami, are you sure?" I ask, truly touched by her kind gesture.

"Positive," She says, smiling at me softly.

"I don't know what to say," I admit softly.

"You'll be doing me a favor," she chuckles lightly as we resume our walk up to the dorm house, "I'd rather not show up to yet another family event by myself and be questioned about why I'm still single." 

"So, I'll be pretending to be your girlfriend again?" I ask with a smirk. She notices my smug look and bumps me with her shoulder playfully.

"Wipe that look off your face," she scolds teasingly.

"But yes," she adds, answering my question, "unless that's a problem?"

"Not at all Miss Sato," I smile. Maybe Christmas won't be so bad after all.

***

Korra's birthday, Wednesday, halfway through the second last week of term.

"Shhhhh!"

"No, you shhh, you're making more noise than me!"

"Both of you idiots shut up!"

"Guys she's waking up, you ruined it."

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY KORRA!" Jinora yells, jumping on me. I squint into the bright lights of their flashlights.

"Guys, what's going on?" I mutter sleepily, feeling my body wake up quickly as I'm hoisted up out of my bed by Song, Jin, Jinora, Yue, and several other girls from my year.

"A surprise party!" Jin squeals as they all carry me out of my room. I can't help but smile.

"You thought you could hide your eighteenth from us?" Song snorts.

"What time is it?" I laugh as I see its pitch black outside through a window.

"Just past midnight," Jinora tells me. My heart flips in my chest. My family used to wake me up at midnight for my birthday, and I only told Asami that. She had something to do with this. A smile creeps onto my face.

They carry me all the way downstairs and into the kitchen, where the entire dorm house of year twelves is waiting. As I enter, they all burst into song, singing happy birthday. I laugh, my heartwarming in my chest as I look around at all my friends' faces.

It may not be my family that I'm spending my birthday with, but it's the next best thing.

My eyes land on Asami, who's perched on one of the kitchen counters in her white robe, a cup of tea clutched in her hands, her eyes watching me with a soft smile on her face.

After the girls have finished singing happy birthday to me, they bring out a massive cake and make me blow out the candles before handing me a present.

"Y'all are so special," I laugh, looking at my friends and unwrapping the present, letting out a loud laugh as I uncover the box underneath.

"What did they get you?" Asami calls from her counter.

"Not sure you want to know Miss Sato," one of the girls laughs.

"A vibrator," I chuckle, answering her question and holding the box up for her to see. She chuckles and rolls her eyes, shaking her head in amusement at the giggling students.

"Cut the cake!" Yue says, handing me a knife. As soon as the knife reaches the bottom of the cake, they all scream, making me jump out my skin.

"Jesus, some warning next time," I mutter. Jinora takes the knife from me and cuts the rest of the cake, handing the pieces out. I take two pieces of cake and make my way to Asami, handing her a piece when I get there.

"You had something to do with this," I state. She smiles at me slyly.

"I might've suggested the waking you up at midnight," she admits.

"Even though I said I hated surprises?" I Say.

"Well do you hate this surprise?" She asks, looking at me over the rim of her cup.

"No," I admit, smiling.

"Happy birthday Korra," she says softly. I can't help but blush at the warm way she looks at me.

"Everyone's going to be exhausted tomorrow," I muse as I look around.

"You're students. You're used to surviving off of no sleep," Asami says, sipping her tea.

"True," I nod in agreement.

"I got you something," she says, making me look back at her. She pulls out a small object wrapped neatly in old fashioned brown paper and twine.

"You really shouldn't have," I say, taking it from her cautiously.

"Just open it," she smiles, watching me as I slowly pull at the string and remove the wrapping paper. A smile forms on my lips as I uncover the book underneath.

"A brief history in time," I read, "by Stephan Hawking."

"It’s an original," She says, "one of the first copies and signed by his wife for him."

I open the book and see the signature. It does look like quite a worn-out book.

"Thank you," I say, meaning every word. She knows my love for math. She put a lot of thought into this gift, and I can't describe how much that means to me.

"You're welcome," She says, "saw it at a yard sale a few days ago. Thought of you immediately."

"I would kiss you but..." I say just loud enough for her to hear, gesturing around. She laughs.

"Well I guess it's a good thing we're not alone then... that sort of gesture of gratitude might be a little inappropriate." she winks at me.

"Only a little inappropriate?" I ask, cocking my head.

"Just a smidge," She plays along.

"Now go socialize with your friends," She waves me away with her hand, "I'm sure they want to know if you'll buy them booze now that you're legal."

"I will if I get a free drink out of it," I laugh, and she gives me a fake warning look.

"You shouldn't be telling your teacher those things," she scolds.

"Thank you for the book Miss Sato," I laugh, before adding with a slightly more serious tone, "and for everything else."

"You're welcome Korra."


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for not updating sooner, I've had a hectic schedule at University. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 27  
\--  
Asami's POV

"You seriously invited her to spend Christmas with you at your parents?" Opal asks me, her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Yes," I say, taking another bite of pizza. Opal sets down her own piece and reaches for the bottle of wine, pouring herself another glass.

"What made you think that was a good idea?" She snorts.

"I told you, Opal, she doesn't want to spend it with her extended family. Apparently, they aren't the nicest of people. Plus, family holidays are a tough time for her," I answer.

"You and I both know that there is absolutely no way that nothing is going to happen between you two," she scoffs.

"Nothing is going to happen, Ope," I sigh, trying to convince myself as much as I'm trying to convince her.

"Oh please, you can lie to yourself but you can't lie to me," she rolls her eyes, "you always spend Christmas night there because there's lots of wine involved and you have that whole special family tradition on Christmas morning. That means Korra is going to sleep over. And considering your parents think you're dating, you two are gonna be forced to share a room. Look me in the eyes and tell me you're not going to sleep with her."

"I. Am. Not. Going. To. Sleep. With. Her." I say slowly, keeping my eyes wide and not breaking eye contact with Opal.

"Bullshit," Opal mutters, sipping her wine. I roll my eyes.

"What is Mai going to think when you show up with your student?" Opal asks after a pause.

"She'll keep her mouth shut… but she won't be happy with me," I say.

"And you're just going to let Iroh and Ming think that Korra is your girlfriend?" Opal asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I don't have another choice," I say. I am getting myself into a sticky situation.

"You sure lead an interesting life, Asami," Opal muses, shaking her head.

"I lead a complicated life," I sigh, taking a sip of my own wine.

"Do you still have feelings for her?" She asks.

"Yes..." I admit.

"And obviously she still has feelings for you," Opal states.

"Why do you say 'obviously'?" I ask, frowning.

"When Bo and I came to see the play. I could see by the way she looks at you. She's completely smitten," Opal says. I can't help but smile at her words.

"Honestly I'm surprised y'all haven't fucked in your classroom or something," she says, making me gasp and throw a piece of pizza at her, although I'm laughing.

"Hey! Don't tell me you haven't thought about it," Opal winks at me, dodging another piece of pizza, "Stop wasting food!"

"Then stop with your false accusations!" I glower at her.

"Pft they're not false," she snorts.

"Shut up," I mutter, shyly smiling in embarrassment.

"Horny bitch," she fires back, smirking.

"Oh, fuck off," I say, snatching up my wine and walking away.

"No no wait! Come back! I'll stop!" She laughs, and hesitantly I return to the island counter in the kitchen where we're sharing our pizza.

"How are things with you and the billionaire?" I change the topic, picking at the pizza.

"Couldn't be better," she smiles.

"Getting serious?" I ask, and she hesitates. "What?" I ask when she doesn't answer.

"He asked me to move in with him," she says slowly, and I raise my eyebrows in shock.

"He what?" I exclaim.

"Yeah… last week. He wants me to move in with him..." she says.

"And what did you say?" I ask.

"I said I need to think about it," she says.

"Why? You're crazy about him," I say, surprised.

"It's a big step... this is the first really serious relationship I've been in… I've never lived with anyone but you and a few others who rent the place," she admits.

"Ope, people move in together all the time," I say.

"I know, I just want it to work out, you know? What if I move in and he realizes he doesn't love me or I annoy him or something," she says, sounding worried.

"Do you see yourself with him in the long run?" I ask, and she nods.

"Well then you're going to have to move in together at some point, so at some point, you'll find out if you're compatible, might as well be sooner than later," I say, and she nods slowly, seeing reason in my words.

"Plus," I add, "Korra told me she's never seen Bo this serious about anyone before. That's got to mean something."

"She really said that?" Opal says, a smile cracking on her face. I smile and nod.

We talk for a while longer and finish the wine and pizza before we both head off to bed. Opal has an early flight out to Italy in the morning where she will be having Christmas with her parents, and I have some shopping to do in the city tomorrow.

The last two weeks of term were hectic as always. The students were living off of stress and last-minute cramming for exams, and the teachers were marking papers in every second of their free time, including me. It's best to get all the marking out of the way so that the Christmas holidays can be work-free.

I fall asleep quickly, my mind exhausted from the long term, and eager for a proper night’s sleep.

As usual, my dreams were of Korra and left my panties soaked. 

***

"How much for this one?" I ask the jeweler.

The woman smiles, opening the class cabinet and plucking the beautiful green pendant I was pointing at.

"You're lucky, it’s on sale. 285 pounds my dear," the woman says. I smile. 

"I'll take it," I say, "and you said you do engravings as well?"

"Yes dear," she nods as I fetch my purse out my bag.

"What would you like engraved on it and where?" She asks, picking up a pen and paper. I smile softly as the memories of dancing on the pier and then again at the concert come to mind, one particular song playing softly along with the memories.

"Darling you look perfect," I say, "in cursive, elegant. On the back of the clasp." 

"How sweet," the woman coos, writing it down, "is it for someone special?"

"Yes," I smile, seeing no reason in lying. After all, Korra is special.

I've spent the day shopping for presents for my niece and nephew, my brother Iroh and his wife Ming, Mai and her husband Zuko, and my parents. My credit card is feeling significantly lighter, the only downside to Christmas time.

I wasn't sure if I should get something for Korra, even though I wanted to. Eventually, I made an excuse for myself, telling myself that if I didn't get a gift for my 'girlfriend' I would never hear the end of it from my family. Although deep down I know that that's only an excuse. I want to get Korra something, something she'll like.

Several minutes later I leave the store with shopping bags in hand. I make my way to my car. I probably would've gotten things done a lot quicker if I just took the tube, finding parking in London is a nightmare.

My phone starts ringing, and I fish it out my bag, answering quickly before checking the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Hi," I smile as I recognize Korra's voice straight away.

"Hello Korra," I say, "how are you?"

"I'm nervous," she admits, and I chuckle.

"About tomorrow night?" I ask, smiling at her adorableness.

"Yes," She says anxiously, "what do I wear?"

"Clothes," I chuckle again.

"Aw damn that ruins my plans of going commando," she scoffs, making me laugh louder.

"Wear something warm," I elaborate.

"But what's the dress code?" She asks, "formal? Smart? Casual?"

"Korra, it’s a family dinner," I say, "you're not meeting the queen. But if it helps, try to aim for smart-casual."

"That kind of narrows it down," she says, less stressed.

"Is that the only reason you called?" I muse as I pay for parking. "How old are your nephews?" She asks.

"Kuzon is four," I say, making my way through the parking lot to my car, "and Tom-Tom just turned one."

"So Kuzon would like LEGO? And a teddy is fine for Tom-Tom?" She asks.

"You brought them presents?" I ask, surprised, my heart swelling at her sweet consideration.

"Of course," she says, "I'm hoping your parents like wine."

"Korra you really didn't have to,” I say, shocked.

"And show up at my girlfriend’s house empty-handed? How rude," she laughs. My heart skips a beat at the sound of her calling me her girlfriend... it sounds so right…

“Also, I'm guessing I'm going to meet your siblings and their spouses too, right?" She asks.

"Yes," I say, "both my brother and sister and their corresponding wife and husband."

"Wow... I'm really meeting your whole family huh..." she says quietly.

"Mmhmm," I hum as I pack my bags into the boot of my car.

"So, things are getting serious with us babe? Taking it to the next level?" She teases, and I chuckle.

"Don't laugh, I'm getting in character," she teases some more. I purse my lips, my heart sinking in my chest as I'm reminded that this is just an act, and as soon as Christmas is over Korra and I will have to go back to just being teacher and student.

"Should I come over to your apartment tomorrow? What time?" She asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Don't be silly, I'm going to come to pick you up," I say, "be ready by four."

"Sure thing, Miss Sato," she purrs and I bite my lip at her words, the usual pleasant shiver running through my body.

"Oh, one more thing," I add as I climb into the driver’s seat of my car and shut the door, "pack an overnight bag."

"What?" She says, clearly surprised.

"Well it's all the way out of London in a country house, about an hour’s drive," I explain, "and I know I'll be drinking enough to make it illegal to drive back home. Also, there's a bit of a tradition where we all wake up early and eat pancakes while opening presents. But if you're uncomfortable with staying over-"

"No no, I'm perfectly comfortable staying over," she says quickly, causing me to smile, "I'm just surprised you're comfortable with it…”

We sit in silence for a few seconds.

“Will we be sharing a room?" She asks quietly.

"Yes," I say just as quietly.

We resume silence. I can almost hear my heart hammering against my chest.

"I don't know if I'm going to be able to keep my hands off you," she whispers, and I bite my lip to suppress a moan. I hit my head on the headrest of my seat.

"Don't start," I whisper, my voice weak. She lets out a soft moan, the sound making me squirm in my seat. Her moans are like sweet nectar to my ears.

"Korra," I whisper, "it takes a lot of self-control to keep my hands off you, please don't make it harder."

"Okay… I'm sorry," she whispers. We resume silence, the sexual tension dripping in the air between us. She clears her throat, breaking the silence between us.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow at four?" She says, pretending nothing happened.

"Yes," I say, also pretending to be fine, Although, my thong says otherwise.

"Goodbye, for now, Miss Sato," she says, and I have to purse my lips to stop my frustrated core from letting a moan slip out. Fuck, it really turns me on when she calls me that…

"Goodbye Korra," I manage to say, and just as I'm about to remove the phone from my ear and hit the end call button, Korra says one more thing.

"Oh, and Miss Sato?" She purrs, "when you sort out that mess I've made between your legs, think of me."

My mouth drops open at her words, but before I can think of anything to retort she puts the down the phone. I let out a frustrated groan, tossing my phone to the side. As sexy as she is when she gets confident like that, it's also annoying. I hate how she knows just how much she affects me.

I start my car up and reverse out of my parking space, my mind still clouded with lust. I need to rid this sexual frustration some way or another or I won't be able to control myself around Korra tomorrow night.

I could tease her the same way she teases me, I could easily leave her on edge and craving my touch, however, I know that once I get started, I doubt I'll be able to stop.. Especially when it comes to Korra. I long to please her, I feel waves of pleasure when I have her under my control.

I switch on the radio and turn it up, deciding that fantasizing about Korra while I'm driving might not be the best idea.

***

Korra's POV

I stare at my reflection in the bathroom mirror anxiously. I'm nervous. Incredibly nervous about tonight. I'm not sure why, it's not like Asami and I are actually dating, but the thought of meeting her whole family is somewhat intimidating and I can't help but pray that they like me.

There's also the nervous anticipation of sharing a room with Asami. I have no idea if anything will happen. I know nothing should happen, but part of me still hopes something does. That was the reason I went for a wax today... you know... just in case...

"Korra?" Aiwei's voice calls from outside my room, "Miss Sato is here to pick you up."

"Thank you Aiwei, I'll be out in a second," I call back to him.

I decided to a black dress, black heels with a black coat, and red lipstick. Too much black for Christmas time? I only realized yesterday that I don't happen to own much red clothing. I've also tied my hair up in an elegant bun, something I never do. I'm also wearing makeup, another rare thing, but I want to look good. After all, Asami is on another level of beautiful, if I'm supposed to be acting as her girlfriend I might as well try to match her unfairly goddess-like looks.

I exit the bathroom, grabbing my purse and bag before I make my way out of my bedroom. As I enter the lounge my eyes fall on Asami, who Aiwei must've let in. She turns as I enter, her eyes falling on me. I feel the usual tingling startup between my legs as she bites her lip, her eyes scanning my body with no mercy.

"Wow," I can't help but blurt out as my eyes scan her. She's wearing a red dress, similar to the one she wore months ago to the art exhibition, except this one is slightly less revealing. It still however compliments her figure in every way possible and snatches the air right out my lungs.

She lets out a soft laugh, her cheeks tinting ever so slightly. "Sorry," I blush, looking down, "I didn't mean to say that out loud."

"It's alright," She says, her eyes twinkling, "you look nice."

"Next to you I don't," I mutter, starting to turn to make my way back to my room, "I'm going to change."

"Korra, come back here!" She laughs, chasing after me and catching my arm, pulling me back to face her, "you look beautiful, alright? Don't change."

My heart skips a few beats and my chest flutters like wild at her words, my face heating up more than usual. A sly smile forms on her lips at my reaction.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're even real," I mutter, looking her up and down again, "I didn't know it was possible for someone to look so perfect until I met you…"

She looks down, biting her lip, a blush forming on her cheeks. "You're blushing," I chuckle.

"I never blush so I have no idea what you're talking about," she says, pulling herself together and changing the topic swiftly, "let’s go." 

I smile as I follow her, my eyes glancing down to her ass.

"Stop staring at my ass," she says, not even looking over her shoulder. I can tell she's smiling, however. 

"I was doing no such thing," I smirk.

"Goodnight Aiwei, tell your family I wish them a Merry Christmas," I call to Aiwei as we enter the elevator.

"I will Korra, have a wonderful night," Aiwei says, entering the lounge area and bowing his head to Asami, "it was a delight to see you again Miss Sato."

The elevator door shuts and starts moving downwards to the underground garage. A smirk forms on my face as I think of the last time I was in an elevator with Asami, which was after the concert and we were doing a little more than just standing next to each other. I start chuckling to myself.

"What are you laughing at?" Asami enquires.

"Thinking of the last time I was in an elevator with you," I say, giving her a sly look. She slaps my arm playfully, hiding the smirk on her face.

The elevator comes to a stop and opens, and I follow Asami to her car.

"How does your family think we met?" I ask as we climb into her car.

"If I remember correctly, we told them that we met because you have a younger sister who goes to Kyoshi Academy," she says, reversing out the parking space. My eyes notice her dress riding up her thigh and I gulp, averting my eyes and trying to ignore the sensation that's growing between my legs.

“Anything else they know about me?" I ask, trying to not think about how toned and smooth Asami's thighs look.

"No," she answers, pulling out of the garage and onto the road.

"If they ask what I do what should I say?" I ask.

"Well let’s avoid letting too many lies," she says, dearly thinking, "so how about you tell them you're a student?"

"Like at university?" I clarify, and she nods, her eyes on the road. "Which university?" I ask

"Well, where would you possibly like to go when you're done with school?" She asks.

"I wouldn't mind Edinburg, but that's a bit far away… maybe Wolverhampton?" I ask. She glances at me.

"You want to go to Edinburgh?" She asks curiously.

"Yeah," I say.

"Interesting… although for now let's stick with Wolverhampton," she says.

"What am I studying?” I ask. She chuckles.

"What do you want to study?" She asks.

"I'm not sure... at first, I wanted to go into journalism but I'm actually considering mathematics, maybe nuclear physics," I say. Asami gives me a surprised look.

"Really?" She asks.

"Yeah," I admit. It has been lingering at the back of my mind for a while now.

"Then, if they ask, you can say you're studying that," she says, smiling to herself, "my parents will be impressed I found myself such an intellectual girlfriend."

I let out a laugh at her words.

"Have you started applying for university?" She asks, and I nod.

"I didn't know that," she says, surprised at my answer, "where have you applied?"

"Oxford, Cambridge, Wolverhampton, and Edinburgh are the big ones... those are the ones I'm really aiming for… I also applied to some smaller ones, for a backup plan," I tell her.

"Have you gotten any replies?" She asks.

"Provisional acceptance into Wolverhampton and Edinburgh, and I've got a place at Oxford. Nothing from Cambridge yet," I say.

"Holy shit Korra that's great news!" She exclaims, her pure excitement for me making my heart swell, "why didn't you tell me?!"

"I didn't think it was important," I shrug.

"Congratulations," she beams, placing a hand on my thigh and giving it a squeeze. I blush as soon as she returns her gaze to the road, and I feel myself missing her contact as soon and she returns her hand to the wheel.

We continue talking about my after school plans and after university plans for a while, our conversation somehow switching to Asami's own choice in her degree. She also starts talking about her childhood aspirations to become a writer, and how she still plans to someday write a novel. As she speaks, I feel myself becoming happier in my choice of a Christmas present for her.

"We're close," Asami tells me as we turn off the main road and start down a private road, soon arriving at another turn off that leads down a long driveway to a massive country house. My eyes widen at the beautiful, old three-story stone mansion covered in festive lights and Christmas decorations.

"Holy shit," I mutter, looking up at the house before me. "What?" She asks me in amusement as she parks.

"You grew up here?" I ask.

"Mmhmm," she nods, unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out the car. I do the same.

"It's such a beautiful house," I say in awe as I look up at it again. She smiles as she watches me, her eyes holding that emotion I can't quite read.

"It definitely is," she says, opening the trunk of her car. I help her get our bags out and we make our way to the front door, nervous butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

Before we even reach the front door, it swings open, revealing a man I recognize as Asami's father and the woman I recognize as Asami's mother.

"Merry Christmas my darling daughter," her father says, pulling her into his arms.

"How wonderful to see you again, Korra," her mother smiles warmly at me, embracing me in her arms.

"Wonderful to see you too Misses Sato," I say, smiling back.

"Please dear, call me Yasuko," the older woman insists.

"So glad you could join us," Asami's father says, pulling me into a hug too. I wasn't expecting such a warm welcome from Asami's family, but I have to say that it's definitely calmed my nerves about tonight down.

"Thank you for having me," I smile at him.

I feel Asami's fingers interlock with mine as she takes my hand, and I smile shyly to myself as she leads us into the house.

"Nah ah," Yasuko titters at us, wiggling her finger and pointing at the ceiling. I look up to see mistletoe hanging over the door frame. My face goes hot with a blush as I turn to Asami, who is sighing and shaking her head at her mother. She turns and without hesitation moves down and places her lips on mine softly, kissing me gently. The air leaves my lungs and for a moment, it feels like my heart forgets how to beat.

She pulls away, her eyes opening and meeting mine, a sly smile on her lips. I remind myself to act normal. I turn my gaze to her parents, who are watching us fondly.

"What an adorable couple you make, I am so glad Asami finally found someone," Yasuko says. My eyes move past her to see that two more people have entered the entrance hallway. One is a woman who looks extremely similar to Asami and Yasuko, except even younger than Asami. I assume this is Asami's sister Mai. I feel slightly nervous again as I notice she's glaring daggers in my direction. Next to her is a man with dark hair and a handsome face. I assume he is Mai's husband.

"Asami!" The man exclaims, stepping past Asami's parents and pulling her into a hug, "long time no see."

"Indeed, it has been a while," Asami chuckles, before sliding her arm around my waist and pulling me into her, "Zuko, this is Korra, Korra this is my sister’s husband, Zuko."

"A pleasure to meet you Korra," Zuko smiles at me kindly, before taking both Asami and my bag from us, "I'll go put these in Asami's old room."

"Thank you Zuko," Asami says with a smile, her eyes turning to Mai.

"Hello little sister," she smiles, her hand resting on the small of my back and guiding me towards the younger raven-haired woman. Asami's parents seem to have disappeared off somewhere.

"What is this," Mai immediately says, her voice cold. My heart rate increases anxiously.

"Mai, play nice," Asami warns.

"Your student? The one you slept with? Are you out of your fucking mind?" Mai hisses under her breath so that no one anywhere else in the house might hear. I assume that Asami told her everything.

"We're not together Mai, calm down," Asami says steadily, keeping her cool, "please don't make a scene."

"I'm not making a scene," the younger woman snaps, glaring at me, "I'm just confused as to why she's here."

"Mai please just be nice, don't make tonight uncomfortable," Asami says coldly. I feel slightly confused as to why Mai is being so cold towards me in particular, and why the sisters seem too cold towards each other. Asami told me that they get on like butter and bread.

"Ah! Asami! My little sister who never visits!" We look up to see another man walking down the passageway. He too has raven hair and soft amber eyes with a gorgeous defined facial structure. I'm guessing this is Iroh, Asami's older brother.

"Hello Iroh," Asami says, putting a smile on her face and hugging her brother.

"And you must be Korra," Iroh says, turning his attention on me and holding his hand out, "a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Iroh."

"Nice to meet you," I smile, taking his hand. So far, the only person in Asami's family who doesn't like me is Mai, her sister, who is still glowering at me. I'm still not entirely sure why she hates me so much.

"Let me take your coat baby," Asami says, helping me out my coat and hooking it onto the coat rack at the front door. I watch Mai and Iroh disappear down the passageway.

"Why does she hate me?" Whisper to Asami as soon as they're out of earshot.

"She doesn't hate you," she whispers back.

"Really? Because the way she glared at me said otherwise," I mutter.

"She's just concerned about me," she explains, "I told her everything that happened between us, she's worried I'll lose my job and end up in jail if authorities find out I slept with a student."

"I still don't get why she hates me," I say. Asami purses her lips, as if unsure to say the next part. Before I can persuade her to elaborate on why her sister seems to hate me, we're interrupted but childlike screams of excitement.

"Aunty Sami aunty Sami!" I look around to see a young dark-haired boy come running down the passageway and throw himself into Asami's arms.

"Ahh! My favorite nephew!" Asami exclaims with a wide smile on her face as she sweeps the boy into the air, planting kisses on his face. A smile spreads across my face and my chest warms up as I watch her nuzzling him with her nose, making him giggle even more. The childlike giggling brings back memories of my own siblings when they were young.

"Who's this?" The boy asks, pointing to me.

"This," Asami says, glancing up at me and smiling softly, "is my girlfriend, Korra. Korra, this is Kuzon."

"Nice to meet you Kuzon," I say.

"Is she part of our family?" Kuzon asks, looking up at Asami. Asami looks at me quickly, watching to read my reaction at his question.

"Let's just say that tonight she is," Asami says, setting the boy down.

"Awesome!" He says, beaming up at me with an adorable smile, my heart swelling at his cuteness and total acceptance. He then speeds off down the passageway.

"He's adorable," I state, and Asami nods, smiling after the little raven-haired boy.

"Just one more person you need to meet," she says, taking my hand in hers again and leading me down the passageway, "well two more people if you include little Tom-Tom."

We enter the kitchen at the end of the hallway, where Yasuko has put on an apron and is helping another woman at the stove. Iroh is also in the kitchen, also wearing an apron, and seems to be carving a leg of lamb.

"Hello, Asami!" The unfamiliar woman exclaims as soon as she notices us, making her way over and pulling Asami into a big hug. She pulls away and turns her attention on me, looking me up and down with wide eyes.

"My my you are gorgeous!" She says, making me blush shyly and look at the floor.

"I'm Ming, Iroh’s wife," the woman introduces herself, hugging me too. I have to say I’m a little overwhelmed with meeting all these new people and all the hugging, but it's a good type of overwhelming. I never thought a family could be so accepting, kind, and welcoming.

"Nice to meet you," I say.

"Would you like something to drink?" Iroh offers Asami and me, wiping his hands on his apron and stepping forward as his wife returns to the stove.

"I know where the bar is Iroh," chuckles Asami, her hand landing on the small of my back again, "you keep carving the meat, I'll fix us drinks."

Iroh grins and returns to his knife and leg of lamb. I let Asami lead me through the kitchen and into an elegant dining room with a beautiful set and decorated dining table.

I'm really enjoying having Asami so close to me, her arm around my waist, and her hand resting lightly on my back. Even the whole way she positions her body towards me like she's protecting me or clearly stating that I'm hers. It makes me blush.

"Are you alright?" She asks softly, leading me to a separate room on one side of the dining room.

"I'm great," I say, smiling at her honestly. She smiles, relief washing over her face.

"My family can be a little overwhelming at times," she chuckles nervously. We enter the separate room and I recognize this as a bar or a liquor room? Parlor? I’m not sure what to call it.

Asami makes her way around the bar and I take a seat on one of the stools, smiling as I look around the room at the paintings that hang on the walls.

"What would you like to drink?" She asks me, calling my attention back to her.

"Whatever you're having," I say, watching her fetch two wine glasses. She notices me watching her and smiles.

"What?" She asks.

"You're beautiful," I say, confidently. Instead of blushing a sly smile forms on her lips and she sets the wine glasses down and leans over the bar counter, surprising me by kissing me. Before I can respond she pulls away and continues with our drinks, fetching a wine bottle out a bucket of ice and popping the cork.

"What was that for?" I ask once I've regained my words. She looks up at me through her eyelashes with a sly smirk in her eyes.

"You're beautiful," She says simply, copying my answer. My face heats up in response and my stomach does several flips.

She hands me a glass of wine and walks around the bar counter, extending a hand for me to take, which I do, butterflies erupting in my chest at the feeling of our fingers intertwining.

"Red lipstick suits you," she comments, and I blush for the millionth time.

"Thank you," I say, blushing even more at the sly way she smiles at me. Clearly, she enjoys making me feel shy.

She leads me through the dining room again and through too another room. This room is large, with a massive roaring fireplace, several comfortable couches, and armchairs, and a towering, overly decorated Christmas tree.

Kuzon is sitting near the tree and playing with cars and a toy racetrack. Zuko and Mai are sitting near the fireplace, a baby boy playing with some blocks sits by their feet. As soon as Asami and I enter, the little boy who I assume is Tom-Tom, extends his arms out to Asami, his eyes wide in excitement.

Asami leaves my side and rushes over to the little boy, scooping him up into her arms and kissing him all over his face. The boy giggles repeatedly, obviously overjoyed to see his aunt.

I smile softly as I watch Asami with the little boy, a warm and loving feeling bubbling inside me.

Asami looks up at me, her expression turning soft and returning my gentle smile. She returns to my side, still holding the little boy.

"Korra, this is Tom-Tom," she says, and I can tell that she adores her nephew just by the way she looks at the little boy.

"Would you like to hold him?" She asks me, and I nod. I'm no stranger to holding and handling children. Tom-Tom looks at me with wide, beautiful eyes. Must be a family trait.

He's obviously not a shy child, because he lets me hold him with no fuse. Instead, he seems fascinated with me.

"He likes you," Asami murmurs, looking at me with soft adoration. My heart flutters in my chest.

"I'm very likable," I wink, Asami rolling her eyes playfully. She leans over and places a soft kiss on my cheek, causing the blood to flow to my face yet again. My eyes dart up where Mai and Zuko sit. Mai is still glaring at me in obvious disapproval.

I follow Asami over to a leather couch by the fireplace and sit next to her, setting my wine glass on the coffee table so I can let Tom-Tom play with my hand. Unsurprisingly, the toddler puts my finger in his mouth and starts chewing on it with his gums.

"I'm guessing he's teething," I chuckle.

"Yeah, we've all had our fingers nearly munched to death by his dangerous gums," Zuko jokes. Asami and I laugh at his words, and Mai continues to glower at me.

"I'm going to see if they need help in the kitchen," Mai mutters, striding off and out the room.

"I'm sorry about that," Zuko says, shaking his head after his wife, "I don't know what's got her all uptight tonight."

"I don't think she likes me," I laugh nervously, answering his question.

"Don't stress too much about that," Zuko chuckles, "I can't remember a time she approved of anyone Asami dated. She'll come around, she's just protective."

"It's got nothing to do with you babe, you've done nothing wrong," Asami says softly, her hand resting on my lower back and her nails tracing patterns through my dress. I try not to react too much to the feeling of her nails, but it’s almost impossible not to feel goosebumps ripple over my skin from her touch.

"I've been kicked out of the kitchen," I hear Ming's voice announce from behind me. I look over my shoulder to see Ming and Iroh enter the room.

"That's a good thing," Zuko chuckles, "you've been in there cooking for the past two days."

"Sit down and try to relax for a few minutes honey, you deserve it after all the slaving in the kitchen," Iroh says to his wife, "I'll go get you a drink."

"Who kicked you out of the kitchen?" Asami asks Ming, clearly amused. "Mai," she mumbles, "Yasuko agreed with her."

Ming walks over to me, smiling down at her son in my lap.

"I see Tom-Tom has taken a liking to you," She says warmly, picking her son up and taking a seat in an armchair nearby.

"How did you two meet?" Ming asks me, bouncing Tom-Tom on her knee. "Through a student of mine," Asami answers for me, "she introduced us.”

"You were set up by your student? Sounds like you have pretty cool students," Iroh muses as he enters the lounge, carrying a glass of wine for his wife and a glass of whisky for himself.

"What do you do? Are you working?" Zuko asks me.

"I'm a student at Wolverhampton," I answer, remembering the story Asami and I came up with in the car.

"What are you studying?" Zuko asks, taking a seat near his wife. I feel slightly intimidated by all these adults staring at me and directing questions my way.

"Mathematics," I say. Asami senses my discomfort and rests her hand over my thigh, the action somehow calming me.

"Interesting," Zuko says, his eyebrows raised in surprise. The other two adults seem equally taken about by my answer.

"Where are you from? I notice you don't have a British accent," Ming asks.

"South Africa,” I say, "Cape Town to be specific."

"Is your family down there?" Zuko asks. My heart drops in my chest and I look down at my lap, unsure of how to answer. Asami tenses up next to me.

"Yes, they are," I answer as normally as I can, putting a smile on my face. Technically I'm not lying, I'm just leaving out the fact that they're also six feet under. 

"Zuko, I heard you got a new promotion as work?" Asami asks next to me, changing the topic. Subtly I rest my hand over her hand that still lies on my thigh and squeezes, silently thanking her for changing the subject. She turns her hand over and slides her fingers between mine, squeezing my hand back to let me know she understands.

I sip my wine for the next half an hour, listening to the adults’ converse. Hiroshi, Asami's father, joins us, and I watch Kuzon eagerly climb into his grandfather’s lap. There's something beautiful about watching a perfect, complete family at work. I even find myself feeling a part of Asami's family by the way they include me in the conversation and how Asami sits close to me, her hand either holding mine or resting on my thigh.

"Alright everyone, dinner is ready!" We all turn to the sound of Yasuko’s voice.

"Finally, I’m starving," Kuzon mumbles, sliding off of Hiroshi's lap and running to the dining room. I chuckle at the boy.

"Are you doing alright?" Asami asks me quietly as we stand. I answer her by smiling and leaning forward, kissing her softly. So far, she's been the one to kiss me, not the other way around. I'm not entirely sure if our kisses are purely because of our act or because we want to...

I pull back and smile as a soft smile forms on her lips. She slides her arm around my waist and pulls me into her, surprising me by kissing me deeply. My heart thuds against my rib cage and my knees feel weakened. If it weren't for Asami's arms around my waist holding me up I would probably buckle.

"Ewww get a room," Zuko says in a childlike voice, making us laugh and pull away. I glance at Asami to see she's smiling, her eyes twinkling with happiness. She's enjoying this act just as much as I am. I move my lips next to her ear.

"You're enjoying this," I whisper so only she can hear.

"So are you," she whispers back, her breath causing goosebumps in its wake. The chemistry between us is too strong to just be part of an act.

She takes my hand and leads me towards the dining room where the rest of her family is and gestures for me to take a seat. She sits down next to me, her hand resuming its position on my thigh, which has become exposed as my dress rides up. I blush at the skin contact, however, Asami remains unchanged and unaffected. I try not to imagine how it would feel if her hand just trailed further up... 

“The house feels complete when all you kids come over," Hiroshi says, beaming around as he takes a seat at the end of the table.

"And I'm so glad that you could join us tonight Korra! Welcome to the Sato Family!" Yasuko adds, giving me a warm smile.

The next few hours are spent eating, laughing, and drinking, everything a Christmas dinner should include. I feel myself actually feeling happy.

Hiroshi and Yasuko tell embarrassing stories of their children, ignoring the protests of Asami, Iroh, and Mai.

I find myself falling even more for Asami, as impossible as I thought that was.

After dinner and dessert Ming and Iroh take Kuzon and Tom-Tom to bed and the rest of us move to the lounge area. By now I'm onto my third glass of wine, and I'm feeling rather fuzzy-headed. The rest of the adults are well ahead of me with their alcohol intake. Even Asami is acting a little more friendly, her hand rests slightly higher up my thigh, her fingertips tracing subtle patterns on my inner thigh. I wonder if she knows how turned I'm getting, even by such a subtle touch.

"So Asami, when are you proposing?" Yasuko asks out of nowhere, causing me to choke on my drink

"Mother," Asami mutters, glowering at Yasuko, her hand rubbing my back to stop me from my coughing.

"I'm just asking!" Yasuko says, throwing her hands up in defense.

"How long have you two been together exactly?" Iroh asks. So far Asami and I have managed to avoid any conversations about our 'relationship'. I guess the avoiding stops now.

"A few months," Asami answers shortly.

"You guys look so perfect together," Yasuko sighs happily, clasping her hands to her heart. I can't help but smile shyly at Asami.

"So, how old are you Korra?" Mai asks out of nowhere; her eyes are cold and her voice challenging. 

"22," I say, meeting her gaze with an equally challenging look.

"Huh, I didn't know Asami was into younger women," Mai states in a matter of fact tone. Asami's grip on my thigh tightens, shooting a warning look at Mai.

“Age is only a number, especially when you're both adults," Yasuko scolds Mai.

"So, what are your intentions with my sister?" Mai continues, asking bluntly, her cold gaze remaining on me. I shift in my seat, feeling both uncomfortable.

"Babe..." Zuko mutters, trying to calm his wife down.

"I think I should go fetch and bring the brandy we save for Christmas," Mai says suddenly, standing, "Say Korra, why don't you give me a hand?"

I stand hesitantly, Asami standing with me.

"I'll go with," Asami says coolly, her glare aimed at Mai.

"We can manage," Mai says sweetly.

"It's okay," I say softly, turning to Asami and giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. I lean forward and kiss her cheek softly, whispering "I can handle her."

The rest of Asami's family looks both confused and surprised by Mai's coldness towards me. Asami watches Mai and I leave the room, her gaze wary and her posture stiff. My heart thumps in my chest and a shy smile comes to my lips. It's enthralling that she is protective over me, even towards her sister.

"What are you doing?" Mai snarls at me, shutting the parlor door as soon as we enter the room.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" She says slowly, speaking as if she were talking to a child. I feel myself getting irritated.

"You're going to have to be a little more specific," I snap at her.

"First you sleep with her, do you have any idea how dangerous that was? She could get fired, sent to prison, labeled as a sex offender. Her life would be over!" She snaps. I'm starting to understand why she hates me so much. I feel guilt settle in.

"Not only did you sleep with her but somehow you managed to worm your way into her heart. You have her so wrapped around your finger that clearly she isn't thinking straight! My sister wouldn't sleep with her student, never mind develop feelings for one," she continues. My heart twists in my chest. I still can't understand how or why Asami has feelings for me.

"What do you want from me," I try to say sharply, but her words are getting to me, so my voice ends up being shaky. Everything she's saying is true. I'm bad for Asami. I could ruin her entire life.

"Stay away from my sister," she says slowly and clearly, her eyes dangerously cold. Without another word, she snatches up a bottle of Brandy and strides out the room. My hands are trembling, and I feel my eyes start to blur. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, pushing back the tears and calming myself down.

"Korra?" I hear Asami's voice just before she enters the parlor. Her eyes land on me and immediately she deducts that I'm upset. Her eyebrows furrow and her eyes darken with anger.

"What did she say to you?" She says sharply, stepping in front of me and directing me to look at her.

"She told me to stay away from you," I sigh, "she's got a point I'm bad news for you."

"Don't listen to her," she says softly, "you're the opposite of bad news."

"No, she's right I could reck your life if anyone found out about what happened between us," I say, tears threatening to fall, "I should've just kept my distance."

"Korra, stop taking all the blame and acting like it's your fault," she says firmly, "I haven't been able to keep away from you either. You didn't force me to sleep with you, in fact, I'm the one who initiated it."

"What are on earth do you see in me," I laugh bitterly, looking down at my hands, "I'm a mess. A broken mess. Not to mention I'm what? Eight to nine years younger than you?"

Asami starts laughing softly, and I look up at her, confused.

"Oh sweetheart," she chuckles, "What do I see in you? You're smart, kind, caring. You're strong, independent and beautiful. You've experienced so much. You've been through so much, and despite but you might think, you're not broken. You've let it build you up. You can't see that yet, but I can."

I kiss her. Mostly because I don't know how to express in words how I feel. What she just said meant more to me then I can describe.

Her hands slide around my waist, holding me against her and she kisses me back with the same desperation and passion.

We draw away from each other, both out of breath. She rests her forehead on mine, her eyes closed.

"I care about you Korra, more then you will ever know. But what we’re doing is wrong, as right as it might feel," she says, and I nod my head slowly. It hurts that we can't be together, but I understand.

"What are we going to do?" I ask.

"Let's just carry on for tonight and figure it out in the morning," She says, opening her eyes and stepping back, sliding her hand into mine and leading me out the parlor, back towards the lounge.

"Are you okay?" She asks me softly as we walk through the dining room.

"A little tired," I admit It has been a long night. She smiles.

"Korra and I are going to head to bed," Asami announces into the lounge room.

"That's not a bad idea," Iroh yawns, standing up, "I think Ming and I are also going to hit the hay."

"Definitely with you on that one," Ming says sleepily, taking her husband’s hand and standing up, resting her head on his shoulder.

"We might as well join you," Zuko says, "looks like we're all tired."

"Goodnight all," Asami smiles to her family.

"Goodnight," they all mumble in return. I smile. One day I want my family to be like this, or at least I'd like to be part of a family like this.

My eyes move to Mai, who is glaring at me, clearly telling me that she meant what she said in the parlor.

Asami leads me out of the dining room and through the kitchen, back down the passageway and to a staircase. At the top of the staircase she leads me down another passageway to a door with her name in white letters on it. I smirk, my heart leaping in my chest nervously as I realize I'm about to enter Asami's childhood room. 

She opens the door and we enter. There's a large bed with two bedside tables. There's also a massive shelf filled with books and a desk in the corner. A few pictures and paintings line the walls, along with a few posters. I let go of her hand and walk over to examine the posters.

"You were a fangirl of U2?" I chuckle.

"I'm surprised you know who they are," I hear her chuckle. The bedroom door closes.

"And Elvis?" I smirk, glancing at her over my shoulder.

"Don't judge," she mutters, taking off her heels. I do the same as my eyes continue to scan the posters.

"Backstreet Boys? Really Asami?" I tease.

"Oh hush," she chuckles.

"The Beatles," I sigh, turning around to give her a 'really?' look. My eyes widen and my face heats up as my eyes rest on the sight of her dress sliding down her body. Her back is turned to me, so she doesn't know I'm looking. My eyes briefly scan the beautiful curves and defined muscle lines of her back and legs. Quickly I turn around, my heart hammering in my chest and my hands clammy.

"Don't tell me you're not a fan of The Beatles," she laughs.

"Umm I-I never really got into their music," I stammer, trying to act casual.

"Daft Punk," I say, finding another poster in her wall, "now that I can approve of."

"I'm glad," she says, right behind me, "I loved their music when I was sixteen."

Turn to see her standing right behind me, wearing shorts and a tank top, her hair in a loose bun.

"I'm going to use the bathroom, you can change," she says, a small smile on her lips. She turns and enters the conjoined bathroom, closing the door and leaving me alone to change. She probably thought I could use some privacy to change, not that I mind changing in front of her.

I see my bag at the foot of Asami's bed. Zuko must have brought my bag here when he took it from me earlier.

I change into shorts and a tank top. I contemplate wearing a sports bra but considering it didn't look like Asami was wearing a bra I decide against it. I fetch my toothbrush and toothpaste and wait for Asami to come out of the bathroom.

She exits the math room a few seconds later, her face bare of makeup. My heart skips a beat at how simply beautiful she is.

I brush my teeth and remove my makeup. I take a deep breath as I stare at my reflection, my cerulean eyes staring back at me. I feel nervous again. I'm about to sleep in the same bed as Asami.

I exit that bathroom and find her lying in bed, semi-sitting with a book in her hands. She looks up as I enter, a soft smile playing on her lips. She pats the bed next to her.

"What are you reading?" I ask as I climb into the covers next to her.

"Odyssey of Homer," she says, placing a bookmark in between the pages and setting the book down. She lies on her side, facing me, and I do the same.

"Thank you for coming with me tonight," she says softly, and I can tell she means it.

"Thank you for inviting me," I say just as softly.

"Did you have an okay Christmas Eve?" She asks. Her eyes are gentle and caring. I love it when she looks at me like this.

"Thanks to you I had a great Christmas Eve," I say. She smiles.

"I really like your family," I add, "I'm glad I got to meet them all."

"They all like you," She says, her eyes sparkling.

"I'm sorry about Mai," she adds more seriously.

"She's your sister," I say simply, "she just cares about you."

"I would have liked to meet your family," she says softly after a comfortable pause.

"They would have liked to meet you too," I say, my heartbreaking slightly in my chest.

We lie in silence for a few moments, A comfortable type of silence, just staring at each other.

"Should I turn the light off'?" She asks, and I nod, turning onto my back as the room goes I dark.

I can almost hear my heart racing. Asami is lying merely inches away from me.

I wonder if I'm going to manage to get any sleep tonight.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, apologies for not updating sooner. I'm in the midst of midterm season, so I haven't been able to update as frequently as I had in the past. Hope you enjoy this short chapter!

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 28  
\--  
Asami's POV

For the past ten minutes, the sexual tension has been building up in the air.

There is absolutely no way I’m sleeping, and I think Korra feels the same.

We've been lying still for the past ten minutes, staring up at the ceiling in the dark. My heart is racing against my chest, and I get the sense that hers is also.

I want so badly to touch her. To feel her. To just roll over and straddle her, strip her of her pajamas, and feel her body against mine, hear her moans in my ear, feel her quiver under my touch. It's taking every ounce of self-control to keep myself where I am. 

She looked so stunning tonight. Sitting next to me, holding my hand, playing the part of my girlfriend... it all felt so right. It nearly burst my heart to see how good she is with kids, and how my parents and brother looked at her so fondly. It was a perfect Christmas Eve. Korra had made it perfect.

"I can't do this," I hear Korra say quietly, and I turn to look at her. She moves, and before I can say or do anything her legs are on either side of me, straddling me. My breath catches in my throat.

"I don't want you to think about tomorrow," she says, pulling her shirt over her head and chucking it to the side, exposing her bare chest. I don't want you to think about the consequences."

I say nothing. Instead, I lift myself into a sitting position and snake a hand around her neck, pulling her face towards me and connecting our lips and falling back onto the mattress. Unlike our first time, our kisses are deep and sensual, our movements gentle and slow.

My free hand moves to her waist, trialing up her side and then over her breast, cupping it softly. She lets out a soft moan that travels through our kiss and arches herself into me. My thumb slides over her nipple as she moves her lips from mine and trails kisses down to my neck. My eyes flutter closed, enjoying the feeling of her teeth grazing across my sensitive skin and the feeling of her tongue softly touching my soft spot, causing me to let out a moan.

I flip us over, so that's she's under me, and immediately I move my mouth down to her chest, capturing her brown bud in my mouth and flicking my tongue over it, causing her to let out a gasp and tangle her fingers in my hair, her chest arching upwards towards me. I circle her nipple with my tongue before kissing my way to her other breast, my hands traveling down her sides as I do so. I love having her under my power like this, biting her lip to suppress moans.

I kiss back up to her neck, knowing her weak spot and targeting it, making her squirm underneath me and let out a whimper that causes the space between my legs to become moister.

I feel her hands tugging at my shirt, and I leave her neck for a moment as I pull my shirt off. As soon as I've tossed my shirt to the side, she's already moved her lips to my breasts, taking my nipple in her mouth and sucking on it gently, swirling her tongue around it while one of her hand cups my other breast, pinching my other nipple delicately between her thumb and forefinger. My hands grasp the headboard for support, a moan radiating from my lips as my hips start grinding against hers. I let out another moan as I feel her legs wrap around my waist, bringing me closer to her.

Her head leaves my breasts and I crash my lips against hers, kissing her deeply while catching her hands and trapping them above her head. I capture her bottom lip between my teeth and tug on it gently, her breathing becoming more and more shallow and her hips grinding small circles upwards against mine, indicating to me just how turned on she's getting.

I start to kiss down her jaw again, back down her neck and collar bone, only this time I don't stop at her breasts, instead, I keep going, leaving lingering, soft kisses on her stomach, making her twist and squirm under me in anticipation as I near the waistline of her shorts. My fingers slide under her waistline and slowly pull her shorts off, loving how eagerly she lifts her ass up to allow me to pull them off.

I continue to kiss down her stomach, going even more slowly before kissing just above the waistline of her underwear, my hands holding her hips still.

Gently I lay a kiss over her panties, a sly smile forming on my lips as I hear her gasp. Tauntingly slow I pull her panties off, leaving her completely naked under me. I pause for a few seconds, drinking in her gorgeous figure in the pale light

I move back up and kiss her softly, letting my hand trail down her body, enjoying her increasing breathing rate, and her whimpers as her body arches towards me in want.

Delicately my fingers find her clit, and I bite my lip at how sexy she looks when her back curves off the bed, gasping in want and her hands grasping the sheets.

Slowly I rub light circles over her clit, moving my lips to her earlobe and sucking on it gently. Her hips grind along with my movements, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth, and her eyes glazed over. One of her hands snakes its way around my neck and directs me to kiss her, which I do gladly. She draws away, but only slightly so that our lips are only millimeters apart.

"Please,” she whispers, and a smirk forms on my lips. I move my fingers so that they glide along her slit, loving how wet I've made her.

I slide my fingers into her, making her gasp. She kisses me deeply, whimpering, and moaning in lust as my fingers do their work.

I turn my attention to her breasts, sucking and gently biting her nipples as I build up her climax slowly, memorizing the feeling of her nails on my back and of her moans and groans.

I leave a trail of kisses down her stomach as I start to curl my fingers faster, hitting the spot that makes her hands take fist-fulls of the sheets. My tongue finds her clit, stimulating it by flicking over it to add to her pleasure.

"Oh god," she groans, her back arching off the bed and one of her hands racking through my hair.

I pick up a little speed, which immediately sends her over the edge. I leave my fingers in her, continuing with my tongue work and letting her ride out her orgasm, enjoying every second of it as much as she does. When I finally feel the clenching around my fingers come to a stop and her grinding slows I pull away, smiling as I leave featherlight kisses back up her stomach and chest before I lie on my side and watch her, my eyes following the heavy rising and falling of her chest as she gets her breath back.

"Jesus," she mutters, her eyes still closed. I laugh at her words, making her look at me, a smirk playing on her lips. She moves forward and silences me by kissing me. I smile against her lips, allowing her to push me onto my back and straddle me, smirking at the feeling of her wetness on my lower stomach.

"A little wet, aren't we?" I chuckle between kisses.

"Not as wet as you're going to be," She growls sexily in my ear before taking my earlobe between her teeth and tugging at it gently. I can't help but squirm at her words, letting out an involuntary moan.

My hands slide up her thighs and over her ass, scratching lightly with my nails and making her grind against me as her lips travel down my neck, licking and sucking in all the right places that make the space between my legs ache for attention of its own.

She kisses across my collar bone, leaving a hickey, and I let her, my mind already to clouded with lust to see straight. I tangle a hand in her hair, scratching lightly with my nails.

I bite my lip to suppress louder moans as she leaves lingering kisses down my stomach and to my waistline, her fingers hooking themselves in my shorts and tugging them down and off roughly. Her eyes lock with mine, a sly smile on her face as she gently starts kissing the inside of my thigh, leaving another hickey there.

"Why must you tease me," I moan and thrust my head back onto the pillow before gasping as I unexpectedly feel her lips brush me over my thong.

I let out another frustrated groan as she starts kissing up the inside of my other thigh. I hear her chuckle at my frustration.

"Patience is a virtue," she whispers shading my skin in a sing-song voice, kissing back down.

"You tease," I groan, watching her as she kisses my hip bone, her fingers brushing just to the side of my thong, making my hips grind towards her in uncontrolled lust.

Slowly she starts to pull my thong down, maintaining eye contact with me as she does so. I try to hold her gaze even as she slowly lowers her head towards my core, but my eyelids flutter shut and I let out a pleasure-filled gasp as I feel her tongue run the length of me.

She starts off slow and gently, only applying small amounts of pressure with her tongue on my clit, flicking it lightly and circling it with experience, driving me insane. Never in my life have I ever experienced such lust towards someone, nor have I craved them so deeply. I have been craving Korra, longing for her, and now that I'm under her, writhing like wild under her every touch, I don't want to ever let her go.

I tug on her hair softly, my other hand clutching the sheets desperately. She starts to apply more pressure, flicking her tongue perfectly, and pushing me further towards my edge.

Suddenly, when I least expect it, I feel her fingers slide into me, making me gasp and I arch my back off the bed in pleasure. This girl really does know her way around in bed...

Her fingers move fast, curling, and hitting just the right spot and driving me straight to the edge. Just as I'm about to climax she slows her pace, making me groan in sexual frustration. Her mouth pulls away and I hear her chuckling softly. I look down at her, moaning frustratedly.

"Korra..." I growl, making her bite her lip in that sexy manner.

She returns her tongue to my clit, curling her fingers, hitting me repeatedly in just the right places. Simultaneously my hands clutch the sheets for dear life, my back arches off the bed and my head starts to spin, and just like that my body unravels under her touch, an extreme orgasm running over me like wildfire.

I'm left gasping for air, my chest heaving up and down and my heart hammering against my rib cage, my vision white from the intensity of my climax. I feel Korra crawling up next to me and settling herself into the curves of my body, her head resting in the curve of my neck, her leg draped over my mid-section, and her hand resting over my chest, her fingers drawing delicate circles over my skin.

She stays quiet, cuddling me as I recover, and as soon as I have my breath back and my heart rate has returned to normal and I curl my arm around her waist, pulling her in closer to me. I feel her smile against my skin, especially when I lay a soft kiss on her forehead.

Carefully I move, adjusting our position and I directing her onto her side so that her back is facing me. I curve my body around hers, sliding my arm around her waist and kissing the back of her neck softly.

"Get some sleep baby," I whisper into her hair, smiling to myself as her hand rests itself over the hand of mine that's wrapped around her waist, giving it a gentle squeeze.

I listen to her breathing slow and her body gradually relaxes into me as she falls asleep. I leave a few more soft kisses along with her shoulder blades before I close my eyes and let myself drift off to sleep too, a small smile still playing on my lips. 


	29. Chapter 29

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 29  
\--  
Asami's POV

I wake to an empty bed, and my first reaction is to sit up and look around, the sheets slipping off me as I do so. A sly smile fixes itself on my lips as I look down to see my exposed body, the memories of last night’s events fresh in my mind.

I collapse back onto the bed, sighing blissfully to myself. I've made up my mind. Korra is going to be mine.

It makes me sick to imagine her with anyone else, and I can't even begin to imagine being with anyone but her.

She's worth any risk thrown my way. She worth more than just one chance.

I sit up again and slide off the bed, pulling on my underwear, my oversized sleeping flannel, and my shorts before making my way to the door and opening it with care and tiptoeing down the passageway. It is only 6 a.m. and I don't want to wake anyone else who may be sleeping.

As I near the staircase I smell pancakes, telling me that Ming is cooking breakfast. I also hear two voices, one that I know belongs to Ming and the other one I recognize as Korra's.

I make my way slowly down the staircase, listening to catch a snippet of the conversation happening in the kitchen.

"I haven't seen Asami this happy in a very long time," I hear Ming saying, "Yasuko really likes you. I've never seen her like someone Asami has brought home so much before."

"I'm glad," I hear Korra laugh.

"My ears are burning," I say, walking in, "are you talking about me?"

My eyes meet Korra's, and a small smile forms at the way her eyes light up and her cheeks tint over.

"We might've been," Ming winks at me over her shoulder from the stove.

"I was just going to bring you some tea,” Korra says, picking up a mug from the counter. She sounds slightly nervous, watching me carefully.

"Thank you, baby," I say quietly, walking over her and sliding my arm around her waist, pulling her towards me and kissing her softly, catching her completely by surprise. I pull away and take the mug

from her hands, taking a sip while holding her gaze. Her eyes are wide, probably taken aback from my actions. 

"Cuties," Ming comments.

"Ming, I want to show Korra my father’s ridiculously large fishpond outside," I say, taking Korra's hand and intertwining my fingers with hers, "call us when the kids wake up for presents."

"Will do," Ming hums over her shoulder at us. I unlock the kitchen door and open it, leading Korra through. She continues to watch me with curiosity as I lead her to the gigantic fishpond down the hill in the corner of the garden.

I gesture for her to take a seat next to me on the wooden bench overlooking the pond, and she does, still studying me.

"Last night," I start, only to be interrupted straight away, making me look over at Korra.

"I know, it can't happen again. It won't happen again. We don't have to discuss it further. I understand," she says, fiddling with her hands in her lap. She glances up at me, to see me smirking.

"What’s with the smirk?" She frowns.

"Can I finish?" I chuckle, making her frown more, nodding slowly in confusion. I take a deep breath and continue.

"I've… I’ve tried to not fall for you, Korra, and I've failed miserably. Try as I might, I can't keep my hands off you. My feelings for you are so strong I can't even try avoiding them anymore. I want to try, I want to try us," I say, and as I speak her mouth falls open slightly, her eyes wide and filled with a deep look I can't interpret.

"However, there needs to be some rules-" her lips crash onto mine before I can even finish my sentence, and I feel her straddling me, her hands cupping my face. I laugh, kissing her back, my hands sliding around her waist.

"Mmmhmm rules, totally," She says between kisses, "keep it secret, no one will know, I won't tell anyone."

I laugh more and kiss her back deeply, silencing her and making her smile against my lips.

She pulls back, studying my face, her eyes glistening, and a pure smile on her lips.

"Best. Christmas. Gift. Ever." She whispers, making me laugh again.

"Your actual Christmas present is under the tree," I say, and she sighs, shaking her head.

"I told you not to get me anything," she says, brushing her lips against mine.

"I told you the same thing and yet there's still something under the tree with my name on it from you," I chuckle. She smirks, biting her lip as she studies me.

"I can kiss you freely now," she states, making me roll my eyes but smile.

"And I can hold your hand," she says, her one hand leaving my face and fetching my hand the rests on her hip, slipping her fingers between mine. A soft smile spreads across my lips as I watch her, butterflies erupting in my chest.

"And I can take you on dates," she adds, her eyes on our hands before she leans forward and places soft kisses on each of my fingers, causing goosebumps to form all over my body, my heartwarming at her actions and words.

"Speaking of which," she says, her hand letting go of mine and both her arms sliding around my neck, her eyes meeting mine again, "May I take you out on a date, my fair lady?"

"How formal," I laugh, both my arms snaking around her waist and pulling her closer, "and yes, yes you can."

She beams, her face lighting up.

"Ah, the happy couple," Mai says from behind us, making Korra look up sharply. I look around, my eyes meeting my sisters. I feel Korra slide off my lap.

Mai's arms are crossed over her mid-section, her eyebrow raised as she looks at me expectedly.

"Good morning to you too, Mai," Korra says slightly sarcastically, standing up and walking around the bench, "Merry Christmas. Hope you slept nicely."

I can't help but smile, and immediately try to hide it.

"I'll let you and your sister have a little talk, I’ll see you inside," she says to me, before walking back up to the house, stopping next to Mai and saying something quietly to her that I don't catch.

Mai glares after Korra, before turning her gaze back onto me, death staring me and making me roll my eyes and turn my body back around so that I'm facing the fishpond. I wait for her to sit next to me on the bench, which she does after several long moments.

We sit in silence, and I wait for Mai to speak first, although I know exactly what she's going to say.

"So, you're actually together now," she states.

"Mmhmm," I reply.

"Did you sleep with her again last night?" She asks, and I answer her by giving her a look.

"I knew you would," she sighs. We resume silence for a few more moments.

"Why Asami," she sighs deeply.

"First of all, Mai," I say firmly, “I like her. A lot, might I add. I've tried to lose feelings for her, I've tried to control myself but I'm falling for her and I can't stop. Secondly, you can be happy for me or you can shut up. If you are not nice to Korra, there will be issues. You're my sister, not mom or dad, I do not need your blessing. Do not lecture me on my life decisions, I am an adult and can run my own life and fix my own problems."

I stand, giving her a strong look with a raised eyebrow. Her eyes are wide in surprise, never having ever heard me talk like this to her before.

“Are we clear?" I say dangerously. She doesn't say anything, so I begin to walk away, taking her silence as a yes.

"Asami, wait," she calls, stopping me and making me turn around.

"I'm sorry," she says, looking down, "you're right. It's not my place to lecture you about your decisions."

"I'm glad you see that," I say, waiting for her to continue.

“As long as you're happier, I'm happy... I just need a little time to get used to it," she says, hugging herself as a cold breeze rushes by.

"I expect you to apologize to Korra," I add, causing her to look up sharply at me.

"For what?" She exclaims.

"The entirety of last night you were cold towards her, and what you said to her wasn't nice either," I say, and she nods slowly, looking back at the ground.

"She's really nice, Mai," I say, my voice softer now, "give her a chance and I really think you two will get along."

"Aunty Sami Aunty Mai! Come inside we're opening presents and eating Pancakes!!!" Kuzon’s little voice calls our attention and we both look up at the house to see a small figure come bursting out the kitchen door and running down the hill towards us. A smile spreads to both of our faces as the little figure nears us and throws himself at me. I catch him and swing him into my arms, my heart swelling at the sound of his giggles.

"Merry Christmas my beautiful nephew," I nuzzle my face into his neck, tickling him and earning more giggles. Kuzon jumps from my arms into Mai's, planting kisses all over her cheeks and making her laugh.

We make our way back up the hill and into the warmth of the kitchen, the entire house awake now and helping move the pancakes that Ming had prepared to the lounge, where my father is helping Iroh rekindle the fire. I find little Tom-Tom crawling on the carpet and I scoop her up into my arms, taking her with me and finding a seat on the couch.

I scan around for Korra, my face lighting up when I see her entering the lounge carrying plates which she sets on the coffee table next to the pancakes, cutlery and toppings before climbing onto the couch next to me and kissing my cheek.

"Everything okay?" She asks me quietly, referring to my talk with Mai. Tom-Tom eagerly crawls from my lap and into Korra's.

"Everything's perfect," I reply, staring at her softly, an adorable blush forming on her cheeks at my words.

"Presents presents presents!!!" Kuzon runs into the room, yelling at the top of his excited lungs.

"Alright little guy," Iroh chuckles, walking into the room with an arm around his wife's shoulder.

My parents walk in, taking their seats in their matching armchairs. My mother smiles fondly at Korra and me, a hand resting over her heart. This time I smile back at her.

We start off with letting Kuzon open all his Christmas presents, including his LEGO set from Korra which he loves. I can't help but smile at her, my heart swelling at her thoughtfulness. After Kuzon had opened all his presents he helps his brother open his present, adorably trying to get him to be interested while he attempts to eat the Christmas decorations.

Kuzon then proceeds to hand it the rest of the presents to the adults from each other, starting with my gift to Korra.

"Babe," she sighs, the sound of that nicknames on her lips making me smile. It fits so perfectly.

"Just open it," I smile at her, watching her as she carefully tears the wrapping paper open. Carefully she opens the box, gasping as she does, her eyes widening. I smile, biting my lip as I do at her reaction.

"Cliché, I know," I say softly, watching as she picks up the silver chain, the blue crystal hanging lightly in the silver clasp. She notices the inscription on the back of the pendant, and studies it closer, smiling as she does.

"Darling you look perfect," she whispers as she reads the small elegant script, before looking at me, smiling softly.

"Thank you," She says, leaning in and kissing me gently.

"A necklace Asami? Why not a ring?" I hear my mother ask, followed by the laughing of my siblings and their spouses. Korra laughs softly, pulling away, her cheeks red with embarrassment.

"Mother," I mutter, shooting her a warning glare. "I'm just saying," she winks at me.

Several more gifts are handed around, including some more for Korra from my family members. I can see that she's starting to feel overwhelmed, but in a good way. I love my family, especially with how welcoming they are, and clearly, Korra feels extremely welcomed.

"Here Aunty Sami, this one’s for you," Kuzon says, handing me a small square box. I smile as I see it's addressed from Korra.

"I'm curious to see how well you know Asami," Iroh chuckles at Korra as I start to peel off the wrapping paper.

"She's impossible to buy gifts for," Mai explains when she sees Korra's confusion.

"That's true, I don't think she's ever been happy with something we've brought her," my father throws in.

"You're making me nervous," Korra says anxiously, and I place a hand on her leg, giving her a reassuring smile.

"They're teasing," I say to her before looking around at my family and speaking to them, "stop making me seem like a terrible person."

By now I’ve opened the box, and I look in to see an exquisite black slate pen with gold cursive script down the side. My eyebrows raise as I lift the pen, examining it more closely and gasping as I recognize the brand. Mont Blanc.

"Korra no! This must've cost you a fortune! Are you out of your mind?" I look at her shocked, and she only laughs.

"Do you like it?" She smiles, and I look back at it, smiling as I see that the gold she had scripted on the side of the pen is the exact same I had carved on her necklace, ‘Darling you look perfect.’

"I love it," I whisper.

"What is it?" My mother asks, and Zuko leans over to get a better look.

"Oh shit, is that Mont Blanc?" He exclaims, also recognizing the brand of the pen. I nod. He lets out an impressed chuckle.

"Well now we know Asami's girlfriend is loaded," he says. Korra blushes at his comment.

"There's something else," she gestures for me to explore the contents of my gift. I look inside and notice something wrapped in silk cloth. Carefully I remove it and unravel it, letting a small key fall into my hand, not just any key, but a key that I recognize comes from a typewriter. I give Korra a curious look.

"I didn't want to log the whole thing around," She says, "it's back at your apartment."

I stare at her, at a loss for words. Instead, I kiss her softly, whispering "thank you" against her lips.

We continue to open gifts, laugh, share stories, and eat pancakes, which has been the tradition in my family since I was small. With Korra by my side, the whole thing seems a lot more meaningful, and my family feels complete.

"Alright, Kuzon can you fetch that last present over there? Yes, that one, that's for uncle Zuko from me," Mai says, and Kuzon proceeds to do so, carrying the small rectangle box to Zuko.

"Read the card first," Mai says, biting her lip nervously as she studies her husband, "out loud. It's also for everyone else."

"What is this babe?" Zuko chuckles curiously, slowly opening the card and beginning to read, "Dear Zuko and family, I hope you have a place in your hearts for one more person."

My mother, Ming, Korra, and I all gasp, our hands all clamping over our mouths, immediately understanding what the present is.

Zuko on the other hand is a little slower and goes on to unravel the gift, opening the box it holds. He stares blankly for several long seconds into the box before looking up slowly, her mouth slightly agape.

"Babe are you serious?" He says quietly.

"You're going to be a dad," Mai says softly, the whole room silent, tears of happiness running down my mother’s face and my father beaming.

Quietly Zuko gets up and walks over to his wife, pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply before kneeling down and pressing his lips on her lower stomach over her shirt, Mai's hand running through his hair.

"Oh, this is the best Christmas news ever!!" My mother exclaims and we all get up and form a group hug around Mai and Zuko.

"What's going on?" Kuzon asks, a very confused look on his little face.

"You're going to have a cousin," Iroh explains to him, scooping him up in his arms.

I get up and rush over to my sister, my baby sister, and pull her into my arms, my heart swelling for her. It's been her dream to be a mother, and 1 could not be happier.

"I know I said I was going to wait until after you're married but I couldn't," Mai says into my hair as she hugs me back.

"Don't be silly," I mutter, laughing and pull back, looking over her and beaming.

"You're going to be a mom," I whisper, and she starts crying and laughing at the same time as our mother and Ming hug her too, all crying with happiness.

"I'm going to be a dad!!" Zuko yells, jumping up and down like a child.

I smile, true happiness flowing through me as I look around at my niece and nephew, at my siblings and their spouses, my parents, and finally, Korra. My heart skips a beat and my chest flutters.


	30. Chapter 30

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 30  
\--  
Korra's POV

I stifle a yawn, exhausted from going to bed so late and waking up so early.

“Are you tired?" Asami asks me, her fingers interlocked with mine and our hands resting in her lap. Her other hand is on the wheel.

"A little," I admit. She smiles softly, returning her gaze to the road.

"You look happy," I say, a smile creeping onto my own lips. She's been smiling the entire day.

"I am," She says, raising our hands to her lips and kissing the back of my hand. I blush, the butterflies in my chest going wild.

"Thank you for coming with me," She says after a comfortable pause.

"Thank you for inviting me," I say, my eyes studying her. Even in the dark of the car, she looks unbelievably beautiful.

"My family loves you," she chuckles, making me smile wider.

"I like your family," I say.

"I do too... although my mother can get a bit much," she laughs.

"I think she hinted at when you should propose about fifty times today," I laugh. Asami rolls her eyes, smiling as she does so.

"I would've liked to meet your family," Asami says gently after a pause. There's a lurch in my chest and a sting in my heart.

"They would've liked you," I say, staring out the window at the darkening countryside. We resume another comfortable silence. Eventually, I look back over at Asami, a smile creeping onto my face. I can't believe she's mine. Officially.

"What are you smiling at?" Asami asks, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she glances at me.

"Nothing," I say, still watching her.

"Liar," She titters.

"I'm just happy," I laugh. She glances at me with those heart-stopping beautiful eyes of hers. Her gaze lingers on me for a second before she turns it back to the road, biting her lip.

"Don't do that," I shudder, looking out the window.

"Don't do what?" She asks, laughing.

"Bite your lip like that," I mutter, crossing my legs. She laughs louder.

"Would you like to do it for me?" She asks, causing me to look at her sharply. She winks, biting her lip again. 

"Maybe not while you're driving Miss Sato," I shoot back. Sure enough, she stiffens and looks back at the road, her jaw clenching and her knuckles going white on the steering wheel.

"I knew it," I chuckle, watching her.

"Knew what?" She mutters with a tight voice, adjusting herself in her seat.

"It turns you on when I call you Miss Sato," I smirk, my hand slipping out of hers and resting over her thigh.

"It does not," she mutters.

"Are you sure about that," I ask, leaning forward and purring in her ear, my fingers dancing up her inner thigh, "Miss Sato?"

"Korra I'm driving," she whispers, her voice weak. I sit back in my seat, smirking in triumph, watching her purse her lips and adjust herself in her seat again.

"When is Opal getting back?" I ask, changing the topic. "In two days’ time," She says, her face still flushed.

"Are you going to tell her?" I ask, "about us I mean?"

"No, I'm going to let her figure it out," she chuckles.

"Speaking of telling people... about us," she adds, "I'm trusting that you won't tell anyone at school? Or otherwise?"

"I promise," I say.

"I know it's hard… keeping a relationship secret," she sighs, "it's going to be hard for a while... we have to be careful about going on dates in public-"

"Asami I know," I interrupt her, squeezing her hand reassuringly. I can see she's stressing out, "I understand. I know what you're risking being with me. I promise I won't tell a soul about us, and I promise to be extra careful about where we go on dates. As hard as it's going to be, I understand that on school grounds we have to be extra careful and maintain a strictly professional relationship."

"Thank you for being so mature," she smiles at me, kissing the back of my hand again.

"Why did you change your mind?" I ask suddenly. "What do you mean?" She asks curiously.

"Up until this morning, you seemed pretty sure that you didn't want to try us... what changed your mind?" I elaborate.

"I think I realized that being with you is worth any risk thrown my way," she says softly after a pause. A wide smile works its way onto my face, my heart swelling with uncontrollable emotion.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" I suddenly ask.

"In the morning I have an appointment at the optometrist, and later, I have some planning to do. After that I'm free," She says.

"Would you like to spend the afternoon with me?" I ask. She glances at me, a smile on her lips.

"I would love to," she smiles, her eyes returning to the road. I grin, childlike happiness skipping over my skin.

"The optometrist?" I ask with a frown, "you don't wear glasses…"

"I might have to," she sighs, "I've been getting headaches when I mark papers for an extensive amount of time. All this reading as an English literature teacher is really putting my eyes under strain."

"Glasses are sexy," I say, making her laugh, "not that you need any help in that department. You're irresistible as it is."

She bites her lip at my words, casting me a sly look.

By now we've entered the city. The roads aren't that busy, so it doesn't take us long to reach the penthouse apartment building, which is disappointing. I don't quite want to part from Asami, and I get the sense she feels the same way.

She parks her car and we sit in comfortable silence, her thumb drawing light circles in the palm of my hand. I enjoy her touch, a simple as it is it feels so intimate.

She turns to me, her hand leaving mine and tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear, her eyes softly drinking me in. Her hand moves to caress my cheek, my heart racing a thousand miles an hour.

She leans forward and kisses me softly. Automatically my hands move to rest on her waist and her other hand cups my jaw. I kiss her back, softly at first, following her lead. She starts to kiss me with a little more passion, deepening the kiss gradually, and still I follow her lead, my skin tingling, and the butterflies ready to erupt from my lungs.

She draws back, panting slightly.

"Sorry," she mutters, "I got a little carried away."

"D-don't apologize," I manage, out of breath and struggling for words. Kissing Asami tends to make me forget how to speak.

"Y-you could always stay," I blurt out, "with me. Tonight." A smile forms at the corners of her lips and eyes.

"I thought Bo was home tonight," She reminds me. I curse under my breath, making her chuckle.

"I better go," I sigh, not wanting too.

"Or you could just stay here for a few more minutes," Asami whispers seductively, moving her lips to brush mine. I answer her by kissing her passionately, smiling as she laughs against my lips.

"Let me know when you get home," I whisper between kisses, "I want to know you're safe."

"You're unbelievably sweet," she mumbles against my lips.

"Drive safe," I smile, kissing her one last time before climbing out her car. She catches my hand and pulls me back into the car, causing me to yelp out in laughter as she pulls me into her, kissing me deeply.

"Merry Christmas Korra," She whispers, smiling at me with that soft, emotion-filled look in her eyes. She lets me go, letting me out her car. My gaze lingers on hers before I close the car door, a childlike smile of pure happiness etched on my face, and her bottom lip trapped between her teeth impishly.

Mine. She's mine.

***

"Hello Korra," Asami answers my call within two rings. The sound of her voice causes me to smile.

"Good morning," I say, checking the clock to see that it is still technically morning.

"Did you sleep well?" She asks. I purse my lips. I slept the opposite of well, but I don't want her to worry.

"I got some sleep if that's what you're asking," I eventually say.

"Bad dreams again?" She asks softly. My silence answers her question.

"Do you need glasses?" I ask, changing the topic.

"Korra…" she sighs, calling me out on my avoiding tactics.

"I don't want to talk about it," I say quietly.

"Alright," she says hesitantly before answering my question, "I do need glasses. Reading glasses, thankfully I won't have to wear them all the time."

"I wanna see what they look like," I smirk.

"Hang on, I'll send you a picture," she chuckles and there's a pause from her side of the line. My phone longs and I draw it away from my ear, opening the notification from Asami. My jaw drops at the how unbelievably sexy she looks. Now it's definitely going to be impossible to keep my hands to myself at school.

"What do you think?” She asks.

"I don't think it should be legal for you to wear glasses,” I mutter, "there is absolutely no way I'm going to be able to focus in class."

"If you don't focus, I might have to punish you, Miss Waters," she says, making me shiver.

"That just encourages me to not focus," I say. She chuckles.

"What time are you coming over?" I ask, changing the topic before I get too turned on.

"Is three o'clock okay?" She asks.

"Perfect," I smile. I've been planning exactly how I want our first date to go, and she has no idea what's in store. I didn't want to be boring and just do dinner or a movie.

"Am I going to be driving us?" She asks, "because if so, I do need to know where we're going."

"We're taking the train," I say.

"Can you tell me where we're going anyways?" She asks. "You'll find out later," I laugh.

"Fine," she mumbles adorably.

"I'll see you later Miss Sato," I say, smirking.

"Korra," she warns.

"What?" I laugh.

"Don't call me that," she mutters, "I'm in public, it's not the greatest of places to get turned on."

"Sorry," I chuckle, "I'll see you later."

"I'll see you later," she says, and I can almost hear the smile on her face.

***

The elevator door opens, revealing the beautiful raven-haired woman who I've been ecstatically waiting for the past few hours. She smiles as soon as she sees me, entering the penthouse and setting her purse down on the entrance table.

"You look beautiful," I smile, scanning her up and down as I make my way towards her, wrapping my arms around her neck.

"So do you," She whispers, laying a soft kiss on my lips.

"Are you wearing Chanel?" I ask, pulling away and taking another deep breath in to try to catch her scent.

"You have a good nose," she says, impressed.

"Ready to go?" I ask, fetching my coat from the coat rack by the door and pulling it on.

"Yes," she smiles, picking her purse up again.

"Can you at least give me a hint of where we're going?" She pleads as we ride the elevator down to the ground floor.

"So impatient," I muse.

"I've been meaning to ask," I say as we walk towards the nearby station, "When is your birthday?"

"Why?" She responds, skirting around the question. I chuckle.

"I think is reasonable for the person you're dating to know your birthday," I say. She sighs.

"I guess you're right." she says slowly, "January 20th."

"What?? That's not even two weeks away!" I say, surprised.

"Mmhmm," She says, clearly not excited.

"Not a fan of birthdays?" I ask as we make our way down the station stairs and out of the cold wind.

"I'm turning twenty-seven," she says, "that's not exactly something to be excited about. The fact that I'll be yet another year older than you isn't a pleasant thought either."

"Does our age gap bother you?" I ask as we tap our Oyster cards and walk through.

"Not at all," she chuckles, "it might bother me if you acted like other party-loving eighteen-year-olds, but then again if you were like other eighteen-year-olds, I wouldn't be attracted to you in the first place."

"Then how come it bothers you that you'll be another year older than me?" I ask as we step into the necessary train and find seats in the relatively empty carriage.

"Does our age gap not bother you?" She asks, slightly surprised. I laugh, shaking my head no.

"Not in the slightest," I say, kissing her cheek. A flush forms on her cheeks, a smile creeping to her lips.

"What did you do last night?" She asks.

"Spent some time with Bo. Spoke about a few things, he told me some stories about when he and my father were at college. It's funny how he never seems to run out of stories about him and my dad," I say, smiling as I feel Asami's hand slip into mine, her fingers fitting perfectly between mine like a puzzle piece.

We continue talking for the remainder of the train ride until we come to our stop, and I lead Asami off the train and out the station I can see that Asami is trying to figure out where we're going as I lead her down a street, taking a turn off into a smaller and quieter street, eventually stopping in front of a small shop. At least the shop looks small from the outside, but I know better.

I lead her inside, both of us grateful to be out of the cold again. I watch Asami's expression as she looks around, her eyes widening as she takes in the towering shelves and shelves of books. Old books, new books, worn-out books.

"Wow," she breathes, her hand leaving mine as she walks forward, her hands trailing against the spins of the books that line the shelves.

"It's an antique bookstore," I say, watching Asami fondly, "hundreds of originals, uncut versions of every literature book you can think of."

"How did you find this place?" She asks, her eyes still wondering over the shelves in awe.

"I got lost one day, entered this shop to try to ask for directions," I say, Cupid's arrows plunging deep into my heart as I watch her.

"Tom Sawyer," She smiles, picking a book off the shelf and studying it, “I loved this book when I was growing up... and it’s an original! Incredible..."

"Do you want it?" I ask, walking towards her. She looks up at me, almost alarmed.

"That is why I brought you here... pick anything you want, my treat," I say. Her eyes change to that deep, emotional look and a soft award-winning smile turns up the corners of her lips.

"Don't argue," I say as she opens her mouth, probably to protest about me spending money on her, "I want to. Just go explore."

"You are incredible, Korra Waters," She whispers, pulling me into her and kissing me deeply. I smile against her lips and kiss her back, tasting cherry lipgloss.

For the next hour or so I speak to the shopkeeper, an elderly man who was once a Shakespearean actor on stage. I also keep my eyes on Asami, watching her wander through the shelves and climb up ladders, plucking books off the shelves, and turning pages with care. She looks like she's in her natural habitat and my god does she look like an angel. The most beautiful angel any god could ever create.

"I've picked these three," Asami finally says, three books in her arms, "although I was torn between the velveteen rabbit and the importance of being Earnest."

"You can get them both," I laugh at her adorableness.

"I'll come back another time, I'm not letting you spend that much money on me. You're lucky I'm letting you pay for these," She says, raising her eyebrow at me, "I'm buying you dinner."

"No, you're not," I chuckle, paying for her books.

"Yes, I am," She says simply.

"No, you're not," I argue.

"Yes, I am," She repeats, raising both eyebrows at me challengingly.

"I had two siblings, I'm well-practiced at this type of argument, I will win," I say, pretending to be serious. She laughs.

"I'm also one of three siblings," she reminds me, "if anything I've had more years of practice."

"Ahh to be young and in love," the old man interrupts us with a chuckle, packing the books away.

I feel my cheeks tint up at his words, glancing at Asami to see her smiling, a similar pink tint on her cheeks.

"You two young ladies must never lose the spark you share," he says wisely, handing us the bag of books as I hand him my credit card.

"I don't tend on losing her any time soon," Asami says, her arm sliding around my waist and her free hand brushing the hair out my face, her eyes looking at me with fond care. My heart feels like it's about to burst out my chest, the butterflies threatening to lift me off the ground.

"You're not buying me dinner," I resume our argument as we step out of the bookstore. She laughs, shaking her head at my stubbornness.

"It's only fair," She says, gesturing to the book bag she's carrying.

"I asked you on this date," I remind her, "so I pay."

"Then can I have the next date?" She chuckles.

"Yes," I say, smiling. It still blows me away that I'm going on dates with my English teacher, the most beautiful and intriguing woman I know.

"Where are we going now?" She asks as we near the train station again.

"You'll soon find out," I say mysteriously. She sighs in frustration. I assume she really doesn't like surprises.

"All the dates I've been on in the past have been dinner or a production at the theatre," she says as we find seats on the train.

"So boring," I wink at her playfully. She smirks and rolls her eyes just as playfully.

"Indeed," she chuckles, "you're just full of surprises…"

We talk for a while on the train until the next station. I lead Asami off the train and out into the busy street towards the science museum. Next to me, Asami chuckles.

"We're going to a museum?" She laughs.

"You'll see," I smile as we near the museum doors which are closed, construction tape surrounding the museum.

"I hate to break it to you babe, but it looks like it's under construction," Asami says, amused.

"Just follow me," I grin, showing a construction worker my ID. He beams and lets us through.

"Good afternoon Miss Waters," he says, leading us into the museum, "my boss told me you'd be coming through."

"Baby, what is this?" Asami whispers in my ear as we follow the man through the mostly empty museum. Here and there construction workers are hammering away at new exhibits.

"You'll see," I smile at her confusion and surprise, taking her hand in mine.

"We've just finished the new planetarium," the man leading us says, gesturing for us to enter a large, domed, and darkroom, "you'll be the first two civilians to see the new show."

"Thank you so much," I give the man a smile, Handing him a twenty-pound tip.

"You're welcome Miss Waters," the man beams gratefully, "get comfortable and enjoy the show. Let us know if we can help in any other way."

"Now this I was not expecting," Asami laughs softly as I lead her to one of the comfortable reclining chairs. We take seats, the chairs immediately moving back into a horizontal position. I turn my head to look at Asami.

"When last did you go to the planetarium?" I grin.

"I can't even remember," she laughs, taking my hand and moving it to her lips, kissing my palm gently before interweaving our fingers.

Butterflies flutter nervously in my chest, an involuntary blush flooding my cheeks.

"How did you manage this?" She gestures around, referring to the empty planetarium inside the closed museum.

"I found out they were rebuilding a better planetarium. Made some phone calls, threw Bolin’s surname around a bit, and here we are," I explain.

"You really put a lot of creativity and thought into this," she says quietly, her eyes filled with that deep emotion as she studies me.

"You're a special woman," I say simply, "you deserve a special date." 

A smile breaks across her face. We both turn our gaze upwards as the show starts. The quality of the 3D projection in uncanny, and to say I'm impressed is an understatement Yes, all the information about the solar system and the Galaxy is not new information to me, but it's still interesting and enjoyable.

Asami seems to be enjoying herself, her gorgeous smile provoking dimples in her cheeks, and her eyes sparkling from the reflection of the projector.

The show finishes, and we're left staring up at a clear and realistic view of what an unpolluted night sky would look like.

"I love the stars," Asami says dreamily, staring up at the domed ceiling, "that's one thing I love about Kyoshi Academy. It's far enough from the city to allow a fairly clear night sky."

"You see that star over there?' I say, pointing upwards. Asami laughs.

"Babe there are about ten thousand stars, which one are you referring to?" She chuckles.

"That bright to the left of that cluster," I say, smiling to myself at the sound of her laugh. I love the fact that I can make her laugh so easily.

"Alright I think I know which one you're talking about," she says through an amused smile.

"Well, two stars to the left and four stars upwards from there there's another star," I say. She starts laughing again but follows my directions anyways.

"Okay I see it," she says, still laughing.

"In Swaziland, the ancient kings used to pray to that star on the full moon. They believed that if you did not pray to it, you would come back in your next life as a mongoose," I say, struggling to keep a straight face. Asami looks at me skeptically.

"Is that so?" She says, trying to keep serious.

"No," I admit, and she bursts into laughter, shaking her head at me. "I'm glad you find me amusing," I grin, watching her.

"I've never met someone with the ability to make me laugh so much," she says, looking at me with her soft and caring light green eyes.

"Where to next?" She asks fifteen minutes later as we're exiting the museum. By now its six o'clock, dark and somehow even colder than it was later. My eyes find the Bentley parked across the street. I take Asami's arm and guide her across the road.

"Now it's dinner," I say, opening the door for her.

"And you have the choice of going to a restaurant I reserved a place at or letting me cook for you," I say, shutting the door and making my way around to the other side and getting in.

"Hmm... what restaurant?" She asks before turning her head to Aiwei and greeting him, "good afternoon Aiwei."

"Good afternoon Miss Sato," Aiwei nods at her through the rearview mirror, "where to, Korra?"

"Give us a sec to decide please Aiwei," I say, turning my attention to Asami again.

"The restaurant is a surprise," I say, smirking as she sighs.

"Of course it is," she mutters, pondering her options for a few moments, "if it's not going to cost you for canceling your reservation then I choose the second option," she smiles.

"Take us home Aiwei," I smile. Aiwei nods once and pulls out of the parking space.

"Is Bo not home?" Asami suddenly asks with a curious frown.

"No, he's in Toronto," I say. She nods slowly, a sly smile glinting on her lips.

"So, the whole penthouse is empty besides us?" She says softly for only me to hear. I pick up on what she's hinting and blush.

"Yes," I say, a sly smile creeping onto my own face.

"Good," She whispers, her hand resting on my thigh and sliding its way up slowly as she places her lips near my ear and whispers, "we won't have to keep it down later."

***

"You don't watch TV series?" I ask in disbelief, looking at Asami over my shoulder. She looks so adorable sitting on the counter wearing my Adidas short shorts and one of my flannels, her hair tied up in a loose bun.

"Nope," she laughs, "Why is that so shocking?"

"So, you've never watched _The 100_ or _Orphan Black_?" I ask, still shocked. She shakes her head no.

"Not even _Stranger Things_ or something common on TV like _Greys Anatomy_?" I press.

"Okay I tried watching _Greys Anatomy_ but my roommate and best friend happens to be a surgeon. It's hard to enjoy a show when Opal is yelling how wrong it is every five minutes," she chuckles. I laugh at that. That sounds like something Opal would do.

"But you've never spent an entire weekend binge-watching a series?" I ask, Asami shakes her head, sipping her wine.

"I'm going to get you addicted to Orphan Black," I mutter, turning back to the stove and adding some more herbs to the sauce, "I can't believe you don't watch series."

"I've just never had the time to," She laughs from behind me. I hear her hop off the counter and set her wine glass down, followed by the sounds of her bare feet padding across the kitchen floor toward

I tense up but quickly relax as I feel her arms slip around my waist from behind, her nose nuzzles the curve of my neck, her warm breath sending goosebumps cascading across my skin.

"We have a few days before term three starts," she whispers, laying soft kisses on my neck, "how about we spend a day inside cuddled up watching Netflix. You can show me all these series you're talking about. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect," I muster up, getting fairly distracted by the feeling of her soft lips on my sensitive skin.

"Smells good," She comments, drawing her lips away from my neck and leaving my body aching for more. I shake my head and pull myself out of the lusting haze.

"Taste," I say, turning and raising the wooden stirring spoon to her mouth. She blows on it and takes a sip, her eyes widening and her eyebrows raising in surprise.

"Oh my god that's amazing," she gasps. I smile, satisfied with myself.

"You cook, you sing, you draw, you're an amazing academic… is there anything you can't do?" Asami says, making me blush. I turn my attention back to the stove.

“You're adorable when you blush," she laughs softly, resuming her position of holding me from behind. At her comment, my face turns even redder.

After dinner, which lasts over an hour due to our conversation, we end up watching a movie, and by watching a movie I mean we end up making out and undressing each other. We don't even reach the end of the movie before I'm leading Asami to my bedroom. You can't blame me, I can't keep my hands off this woman, and clearly, she doesn't want to keep her hands off me either.


	31. Chapter 31

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 31  
\--  
Asami's POV

Korra's skin is unbelievably soft, similar to silk. I need to find out what body wash she uses, or perhaps what cream because there is no way her skin is this smooth naturally.

My fingertips dance gently along her upper arm, drawing soft circular patterns on her skin as I watch her in her peaceful state of sleep.

I'm propped up on my elbow, lying on my side, and Korra is lying on her side, facing me. My eyes scan her half-exposed body, her athletically toned legs, and the curve of her ass uncovered by the duvet.

I smile softly, my eyes returning to her face. Her features are untouched by makeup and yet she is still so beautiful. Quietly I push myself up into a sitting position and move off the bed, careful as to not wake the sleeping girl.

I slip on a pair of underwear and pull one of Korra's flannels on, not bothering to button it up because I know Korra and I are the only ones in the penthouse. I've learned that Aiwei only comes in after 9 a.m. and right now it's 7 a.m.

I make my way out of Korra's room and to the kitchen, switching on the kettle on my way to the massive glass wall that allows for an exquisite skyline view of London.

My thoughts travel back to the events of yesterday, a smile forming on my lips as I think of Korra's adorable date to that antique bookshop and the planetarium. It's been a while since I've been on an actual enjoyable date.

"You're up early," Korra's coarse sleepy voice says from behind me. I turn, immediately my smile widening at the sight of the half-dressed girl, her eyes squinted slightly from the light, her hand wiping away any sleep that may have collected in the corners of her eyes.

"Hmm, I have to leave soon," I say, sliding my arms around her slim waist as she reaches me. She burrows her head in the crook of my neck, her arms wrapping limply around my neck and her eyelashes tickling my skin slightly.

"Why?" She asks in her adorably sleepy voice.

"Mai is going in for a scanning today at the hospital," I say, "she wants me to be there with her."

"Ohh okay," Korra says, drawing back and looking at me, "I still can't believe she's pregnant. I did not see that coming."

"Me neither... it's weird to think my little sister is going to have a baby," I shake my head softly.

“Will I see you later?" Korra asks, cocking her head to the side, her hypnotic cerulean eyes more awake now.

"I was thinking about taking you for dinner," I smile, moving forward and brushing her nose with mine, "I know an amazing place. I'll pick you up at eight?"

"Sounds good," she smiles. moving forward and kissing me softly.

Kissing someone has never given me butterflies or made my knees week. I've never had my heart skip a beat and felt goosebumps. Not until Korra. When I kiss her, I feel all those things at once, and it's the most addicting and exhilarating feeling. I don't see how I could ever get used to the feeling of her lips on mine.

"Can I make you breakfast before you go?" She asks, drawing back.

"I wouldn't ever decline an offer when it comes to your cooking," I say. She laughs and kisses me again.

***

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Zuko asks.

"Well it's too soon to tell," the doctor says.

"Wait, babe, you want to know the gender before birth?" Mai asks her husband, surprised.

"Of course, don't you?" Zuko responds with an equal amount of surprise.

"Don't you want the surprise and the excitement of not knowing?" Mai asks.

"I'd rather know and feel prepared, I mean isn't it totally different raising a boy compared to a girl?" Zuko asks.

"Sami, would you want to know or not if you were in my position?" Mai asks, turning to me.

"Honestly I have no idea," I chuckle, gesturing between the two of them and saying, "besides I’m not putting my say in this. You sort this out between yourselves."

"Well you still have a few weeks until we discover the gender," the doctor says, standing up and peeling his gloves off his hands, "but for now, I can tell you that everything looks great. Strong heartbeat and no problems that I can see so far."

"That's great news," Mai says, smiling in relief.

The doctor nods and leaves the room, Zuko following him and asking more questions. Both Mai and I smile after Zuko. He's going to make a great dad, and it's heartwarming to see how eager he is about Mai's pregnancy.

Mai gets out of the chair and pulls off the blue hospital gown, walking over to the chair where her clothes are as she does so.

"So.." She says slowly, pulling her shirt over her head, "I have something to ask you."

I remain silent, waiting for her to continue.

"Both Zuko and I have something to ask you actually, but Zuko thinks I should be the one to ask," she continues as she pulls on her jeans.

"Just ask," I chuckle.

"We want to know if… well, if you'll be the godmother," she says, looking at me carefully and watching for my response.

My mouth drops open and I raise my eyebrows in shock. I was not expecting that. I was expecting Mai to ask one of her friends to be the godparent of her child, not her sister.

"Are you serious?" I say, feeling a bunch of emotions well up inside me.

"Yes," she smiles, and I rush over and pull her in, hugging her tightly.

"Are you sure you don't want to ask one of your friends?" I ask her, pulling away, and holding her by the shoulders, wanting her to be dead sure.

"I'm one hundred percent sure," she laughs, adding in a more serious tone, "you're my sister. You've been there for me through thick and thin and you've been by my side since the day I was born. You're not just my big sister, you're my best friend and you know that. There is no one other than Zuko and you that I'd trust my child's life with."

"I love you Mai," I say, hugging her tightly again. Mai momentarily stiffens in my embrace. She knows how rarely I say those words. In fact, I can probably count on my hands the number of times I've told her or anyone that I love them.

"I love you too," She says back.

"Well I'm guessing you asked her," Zuko chuckles, entering the room again. Mai and I pull away, wiping a few stray tears away as we do.

"It means the world to me that you two want me to be the godmother," I beam at Zuko, walking over to him and giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Of course, Asami," he grins down at me.

"Asami and I are going to go for lunch," Mai says from the chair where she sits as she puts on her shoes, "I'll see you later at home after work."

"Have fun ladies," Zuko smiles at us, walking over and kissing his wife gently, "I'll see you later babe."

"How are things with Korra?" Mai asks as we make our way out of the hospital and to the car park. I can hear by her voice that the question is forced like she's still not used to the idea that Korra and I are together.

"They're great," I say as we both climb into my car.

"I'm happy for you," Mai says after a pause. I look at her with raised eyebrows. She rolls her eyes.

"I'm serious," she says, "I am happy for you."

“You don't have to lie to me Mai, I know you don't like her because you're scared our relationship will ruin my life. I know you think she's no good for me," I say as I drive.

"I've gotten over that Asami," she says, I however remain unconvinced.

"At some point, mom and dad are going to find out that Korra is only eighteen, you know that right?" Mai says after another pause. I sigh. I know she has a point.

"So?" I say.

"Well, you've led it on that she's older than that. I mean you even lied and said she's in university. Are you going to keep up that lie even after Korra graduates?" She says. I ponder for a few moments.

"I don't know what I'm going to do. I hate lying to my family," I sigh, "at some point, I guess I'll tell mom and dad how Korra and I met, but I'd rather cross that bridge when we get there."

"How are you guys going to cope at school?" Mai asks after yet another pause.

"We'll have to maintain a professional relationship," I say. Even I struggle to see how Korra and I are going to manage that

"That's not going to be easy…" Mai comments as if reading my thoughts, "and you don't often get free weekends, so it's not like you'll be able to have that many weekend date nights... it'll basically be like a long-distance relationship except harder because she'll be right in front of you but you won't be able to treat her the way you want."

"I know," I say, chewing on my lip while deep in thought.

"And you think she's worth it? Worth all this effort?" Mai asks slowly.

"I know she's worth it," I say quietly.

"Jesus," Mai mutters, astounded, "honestly I don't remember ever seeing you this head over heels for someone... not even your ex and that girl had you wrapped around her finger."

"Korra's... well, she's different," I say, smiling, feeling fuzzy at just the thought of the beautiful blue-eyed girl.

"You're falling in love already?" Mai says, and I don't even have to glance over at her to know that her expression is one of shock.

"It's hard to tell if I'm falling or if I've fallen,” I admit, my heart pounding in my chest at my own words.

"If she breaks your heart, I'm going to kill her," Mai mutters next to me. I laugh at her words.

"I'm serious Asami, I'll kill her," Mai says, and I laugh harder, shaking my head in amusement.

"I'll make sure to let her know," I chuckle.

***

"My god,” I breathe out, my mouth dropping open at the sight of Korra.

She's wearing a beige coloured dress, skintight in all the right places. Her hair is swept in its natural waves to the one side, and her eyes are brighter than usual due to eye makeup. A shy smile spreads across her lips as my eyes sweep her body, drinking her in.

"You like?" She laughs softly, walking forward and sliding her arms around my neck.

"I definitely do," I mutter, biting my lip and sliding my arms around her waist, "I'm tempted to skip dinner and go right to dessert."

"And what's for dessert, Miss Sato," she whispers, sending shivers all over my skin. My lips turn upwards into a sly smile, my hand moving slowly over her waist and to her thigh, pressing my thumb into the soft spot in her hip bone. I smirk in satisfaction as I feel her shiver under my touch, her lips opening slightly in a soft gasp. 

"We'd best leave before I get too carried away," I say softly, leaning in and kissing her lips seductively.

"Where are we going?" She asks on the way down in the elevator.

"A skyline restaurant," I say, my eyes still glued on her perfect figure, "I know the chef, he got us a table."

"How do you know the chef?" She asks as I lead her to my car, opening the door for her.

"College friend," I say simply. She nods.

"How was Mai’s doctor's appointment?" She asks as I drive us out of the garage.

"It was good," I say, smiling as I remember Mai’s question for me, "They asked me to be the godmother."

"What?!" Korra gasps, surprised, "that's wonderful!"

"Mhmm," I smile, biting my lip at her adorable excited reaction for me.

"You know how I feel about you biting your lip," she mutters, and I let out a laugh.

"Mai told me to warn you that she’ll kill you if you ever 'break my heart', as she put it,” I chuckle.

"I have absolutely no intention of doing anything of the sort," Korra laughs softly, leaning over and placing a gentle, loving kiss on my cheek, causing my heart to flutter in my chest. I rest a hand on her thigh, squeezing it as I do so.

In no time I've parked my car in the underground parking. We ride up the elevator to the top floor, where the restaurant is. It's a beautiful restaurant, fully booked out yet quiet, dimly lit to make a very romantic setting.

The waiter takes us to our table, which is in a corner right next to the glass wall that gives for an incredible, breathtaking view. Korra and I take seats across from each other, and I watch with a warming heart as Korra stares in awe out at the view. Even though I have a never-ending passion for skyline views all I find myself wanting to look at is the girl in front of me.

Well, she's not a girl. She's a woman. A young woman. And she's a beautiful one at that.

She notices me looking and a soft blush fills her cheeks, a shy smile spreading to her lips and glistening in her grey eyes. I don't think I'll ever get over how striking her eyes are, like a wolf’s. Hypnotic. Captivating.

She reaches her hand over and I meet her hand with my own, lacing our fingers together over the table surface.

"What did you think of me when we first met?" She asks suddenly. I smile, thinking back to the first time I met Korra.

"I thought you seemed interesting, like there was a lot more to you than what meets the eye," I say softly.

"I thought you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen," she admits, chuckling to herself and glancing down to her lap in slight embarrassment, "I couldn't get over how absolutely breathtaking you were."

I can't help but smile at her words, my heart heartwarming in my chest.

"Did you ever think we'd end up together?" She asks, looking up at me through her eyelashes. I chuckle and shake my head.

"Never in a million years would I have ever thought I'd end up with a student," I admit. She smirks.

"Was I just that irresistible?" She winks teasingly.

"You were just that irresistible," I roll my eyes at her playfully.

"Can I get you ladies something to drink?" We both turn as we hear the waiter. My eyes turn to the wine menu, scanning down to my favorites. Before I can even choose one Korra speaks up.

"I see here you have 2005 Shiraz Select?" Korra asks.

"Yes, we do, Ma'am," the waiter nods with a polite smile.

"Two glasses please," she smiles, and he nods and strides off. I raise an eyebrow at her.

"First time I ever liked wine was when I had a glass of that at a wine farm in Stellenbosh," Korra says, "it tasted like an orgasm in my mouth."

I let out a laugh at her description. "Well then, I'm keen to try it," I chuckle.

"One day I'm going to take you to Stellenbosh," Korra says thoughtfully with a tilt of her head, "you and your wine-loving taste buds will enjoy it there. Us South Africans make the best red wines in the world."

The rest of the night moves slowly, which I'm grateful for. Every minute with Korra immediately falls under the best minutes of my life so far.

I'm treasuring every moment I get to spend with her. I know as soon as school starts again well have very little time to spend together. It's going to be hard to keep my hands and lips off of her.

"Would you like me to drop you off at home?" I ask her as we get into the car after a delicious meal and fruitful hours of smooth, enjoyable conversation. I, being the one who has to drive, only had two glasses of wine, both earlier on in the night Korra however has had about four, and it clearly shows. She's not a stumbling, giggling, or emotional drunk. If anything, she becomes even more attractive, her eyes dark with desire and her lips curled into a seductive smirk

"Or you can take me back to your apartment," she says, her voice lower and soft, her eyes dancing with suggestion. I feel a shiver of excitement over my skin, especially when her hand lands high up on my thigh. She moves forward and brushes her lips against my jaw, whispering, "I'm still looking forward to dessert."

I purse my lips at her words, my eyes fluttering closed as I feel her fingers brush up my thigh.

"Baby in order for me to drive I need you to keep your hands to yourself," I say weakly, her fingers dangerously near to my already heated core.

She retracts her hand and sits back, a sly smile on her lips. I take a deep shaky breath and gather myself together before starting the car and driving probably too fast back to my apartment building.

"Babe are you sure you haven't had a little too much to drink?" I mumble between kisses as Korra pushes me into my bedroom, shutting the door with her foot

"I'm not drunk," She murmurs, her hands finding my dress straps and sliding them off my shoulders, her kissing up to my jaw, "rather tipsy, but not drunk."

"I don't want to take advantage of you," I say distractedly as I feel her biting at my earlobe gently, her hands continuing to slide down my body, pulling my dress off as they do so. She chuckles huskily against my neck, pushing me back onto my bed as soon as my dress hits the floor.

"I'm sober enough to know I want you," she whispers in my ear, straddling me, "and I'm not a man. Having alcohol in my system does not inhibit my ability to perform."

She kisses me deeply, her hands finding their way around to unclip my bra, pulling it off and throwing it to the side before shoving me back roughly and attacking my neck with her lips and tongue, grazing her teeth against my skin, her hands capturing mine and pinning them above my head.

I let out a stifled moan, allowing my body to subdue under her touches, my back arching off the bed as her mouth travels down to my chest and further so down to the space between my legs.

Eagerly I lift my waist for her to tug off my tong, gasping as I feel her immediately turn her kisses to my craving core.

She was right.

Alcohol does not inhibit her ability to perform.

***

Korra's POV

I wake with a gasp, my body trembling and my chest heaving with panicked shuddering breathes. It takes me a moment to come back to reality and remind myself that it was just a dream.

I turn my eyes on the sleeping raven-haired woman in my arms, our naked bodies intertwined. She's still fast asleep, undisturbed by my sharp awakening from my nightmare driven sleep.

Of course, she's sound asleep. I kept her up for hours last night. What can I say? Wine cranks up my sexual drive. I was relentless on Asami, to the point where I had her shakily telling me she was too sensitive to take even one more orgasm. 

I smile slyly at the memories of our heated hours together last night, momentarily forgetting the nightmare that woke me. I kiss Asami softly on her temple, carefully untangling myself from her and sliding off her bed.

I pluck a pair of underwear and a shirt with some shorts from her closet, knowing she won't mind if I wear her clothes. After quietly dressing I make my way out her bedroom door and to the kitchen, pouring myself a glass of water.

I lean against a counter, my most recent nightmare coming to mind.

Usually, when I'm haunted by nightmares I dream of the accident. Sometimes I dream of their dead and bloodied bodies coming to be one by one I'm a dark room, telling me how it's my fault that they'll never breathe again.

But last night I dreamt of something new.

Something that's left a sharp pain in my heart and has struck fear deep within me.

"AGHGAHAHHHHH!!!" I jump at the sound of a startled yell. I turn to see Opal holding a baseball bat and running at me.

She halts as soon as she recognizes who I am, her eyes widening for a few seconds in surprise.

"What in the flying fuck are you doing here-" She begins, lowering the bat slowly. The realization hits her quickly as she puts two and two together.

"oh OHHHH," she exclaims, then gasps and points at me before pointing in the direction of Asami's room, "you two are fucking?!"

"Dating," I correct, sipping my water.

"Y'all still fucking though," she asks, and hesitantly I nod.

"Little bitch why didn't she tell me," Opal mutters in disbelief, "how long?"

"Since Christmas," I say. Opal smirks.

"I knew you two would get together then," she grins smugly, "told her she wouldn't be able to keep her hands off you."

"Where the hell did you get a baseball bat from?" I ask my eyes on the bat in her hands.

"Keep it around in case I need to beat off any attackers," she says, setting it down on the counter. I watch her pick up the kettle and carry it over to the sink, filling it up.

"Please don't tell Bo," I say.

"Of course, I won't," she says, "although to be honest I don't think he'll judge. He might be surprised, but he won't judge or report Asami."

"I know I'll have to tell him at some point," I say, "but preferably after graduate."

"That's like in two months," Opal says, glancing at me, "are you planning on staying with Asami long term?"

"Well yeah," I say, honestly, "I think Asami and I both realized there was no point getting into a relationship when she has so much to lose unless we were both sure that we'd give us a good shot."

"Listen," Opal says after a pause, “I like you Korra, you're cool and shit. In fact, you're the only person Asami has dated that I like. But I'm her best friend, and as the best friend I need to give the best friend speech."

I grin, knowing where this is going.

"You hurt her, in any way possible," she says slowly and threateningly, "and I'll strangle you with your own ovaries."

I bite back a laugh and nod solemnly.

"Vice versa. If she hurts you, I'll also kill her with her ovaries but I know she won't hurt you," Opal snorts, "stupid woman is too smitten."

"I won't hurt her, Opal," I say, reassuring her with a smile, "she's the best thing that's happened to me in a long while."

A small smile forms on Opal's lips.

"You're just what she needs," Opal says softly, "I'm glad she decided you are worth the risk."

I smile too. It still blows my mind that Asami is willing to risk everything just to be with me.

"Now if you don't mind," Opal says, taking her freshly made cup of tea, "I'm going to go take a long bath and then I'm going to sleep for a decade. I hate traveling, and worst of all I hate jet lag."

Just then Asami enters the kitchen, her eyes still sleepy and her hair in a messy bun, wearing nothing but an oversized white shirt.

Opal grabs a banana from the fruit basket and throws it at Asami, who manages to respond fast enough to shield her face.

"Ow, what was that for?!" Asami exclaims.

"For not telling me you officially tagged Korra's ass," Opal snaps, pushing past Asami. Asami shakes her head after her roommate, smiling to herself in amusement.

"I missed you too!" She calls after angry Opal. I chuckle at the exchange between the two best friends.

Asami turns her attention on me, a soft smile playing at the corners of her perfect lips and gentle eyes.

"Good morning," she says softly. Even the way she just looks at me, with such soft, loving care makes me feel weak at the knees.

"Morning," I say shyly. She makes her way over to me, her hands sliding around my waist, her body pressing against mine and forcing me against the counter.

"Last night..." she murmurs, brushing her lips against mine, "was quite something..."

I smile and let her kiss me, setting my glass of water down and wrapping my arms around her neck.

She pulls away after a few moments, raising a hand to tuck my hair behind my ear, her fingers brushing my skin and sending tingles all over my body.

"Be mine," she whispers, her eyes staring deeply into mine. My heart skips at her words.

"I'm already yours," I reply. Her lips twitch upwards.

"I mean be mine officially," she laughs softly, "I want you to be my girlfriend."

I have to remind myself to breathe, happiness erupting like a thousand fireworks in my chest.

I answer her by pressing my lips against hers again, kissing her with more passion than I thought was possible to feel.


	32. Chapter 32

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 32  
\--  
Korra's POV

I spend the next few days of holiday with Asami. Every second with her is perfect, whether we're cuddled up on the couch under a blanket watching series or movies, or if we're walking through a park, or cooking and making out together in the kitchen. Every moment is the definition of perfect and I don't want it to end.

Even in the moments I'm not with her, she's always lingering on my mind, bringing my heart rate up when I picture her or causing me to blush when I feel my lips tingle from our last kiss.

I find myself wishing the holidays would just go on, but of course, soon I'm back in my room at Kyoshi Academy, unpacking my suitcase and listening to Yue tell me about her dramatic Christmas with her family.

"And how was your Christmas?" Yue asks, finally finishing her story and collapsing onto her bed.

"It was great thank you," I say, unable to keep the smile off my face as I think of Asami. My girlfriend. My Christmas miracle.

"Yeah? What happened?" Yue asks, smirking at my smile.

"Uhh nothing too interesting," I shrug, "it was just a good Christmas." Yue looks at me skeptically.

"I'm not looking forward to this term," I say, changing the conversation topic.

"Oh god tell me about it," Yue groans.

"It's gonna be busy," I say, "we're not gonna get much sleep with all the studying."

"And it's not like it's the last studying we're ever gonna be doing," Yue sighs, "because next year is uni, and that's even harder."

"I'm not even thinking about uni right now, to be honest," I admit, sitting down on my bed heavily, "just focusing on finishing this year."

"Have you decided where you want to go or what you want to study?" Yue asks, noticing the stress in my voice.

"I've been thinking about it and I think I'm going to study mathematics," I say, "I just haven't decided where?

"At least you know what you want to do," Yue mutters, before launching into a rant about how unfair it is that we're supposed to be able to choose the career were going to do for the rest of our lives at the mere age of 18. I only pay half my attention to what she says, the other half of my mind thinking about Asami. If I go somewhere like Manchester or Edinburgh I'll be pretty far away from here. I won't get to see her much, and even the thought of that makes me sick. Just like the thought of breaking up with her so I can go study makes me nauseated.

But even if I study somewhere closer like London, we won't be able to see each other much. She works here and even has to stay here over most weekends.

I decide to push the thoughts of university for another day. I don't want to overstress myself over it just yet.

Yue and I go down to the common room and join Song, Jin, and Jinora by the fireplace, which is blazing warmly.

"I like your necklace Korra," Jin comments, "Christmas gift?"

My hand moves to find the emerald crystal laying in its silver clasp. I twist it in my fingers, a smile coming to my face as I think, yet again, of my beautiful raven-haired woman English teacher.

"Yeah," I say.

"From who?" Jinora asks. Jinora is sharp enough to notice the shy smile on my lips. I see her looking at me curiously.

"A friend," I lie. Thankfully Song changes the conversation to how her brother gave her a brick with a sign saying "smash me on your head" on it for her Christmas present. Jinora eyes me skeptically for a few seconds but drops any further questions about my necklace.

I listen to my friends converse, not really feeling the need to contribute to their conversation. My eyes dart up as I hear a few other girls squeal 'Miss Sato!'

My eyes find the gorgeous view of the English teacher, a warm smile on her lips, her hair in a neat bun, exposing the delectable curve of her jaw and neck. My heart skips just at the sight of her.

I watch her as she greets the girls, talking to them for a few minutes. My stomach does a few nervous flips as her eyes move up to meet mine for a few seconds, her eyes twinkling, her lips curving into a loving soft smile. She makes her way over to my group, her eyes moving from mine to greet the other girls.

"Hello Miss Sato," they all chime.

"Hello Girls," She chuckles, taking a seat, "What gossip are you all discussing?"

"Oh Miss Sato it's too erotic for your teacher ears," Jin says.

"That has never stopped you from telling me gossip before," Asami winks.

"Song was just telling us about her threesome," Jinora jokes, earning a smack from Song.

"I was not," Song exclaims, glowering at us as we laugh at her, "I've never had a threesome! You're all assholes."

Asami watches them in amusement. As for me, I can't stop looking at Asami. Her eyes dart to meet mine, a sly knowing smile forming on her lips. Quickly I force myself to look away, blushing as I do so, knowing I need to be more subtle, especially around my friends.

Sure enough, Jinora seems to have noticed mine and Asami's silent small exchange.

"How was your Christmas break, Miss Sato?" Yue asks Asami.

"It was wonderful thank you," She says, her eyes flickering to me momentarily with a sly smile just hinting on her lips, "you girls looking forward to your last term of high school?"

All of them groaned in unison and collapsed backward in defeat.

Asami let's out a laugh at their overdramatic act, and the sound, as usual, makes my stomach do nervous flips.

I listen to Asami talk to my friends, giving them advice on their worries about college and what to study, or about certain subjects they're not doing well enough in. I feel my respect and admiration for her grow with each minute, seeing how caring and compassionate she is towards each of her students.

Soon it's dinner time, and she leaves us to head down towards the dining hall and we follow. I spend most of dinner arguing with Jin and Song about who the hottest Avenger is (they said Tom Holland aka Spider-Man while I insisted it was Black Widow, aka Scarlet Johansson).

In no time, Yue and I are bidding each other Goodnight and switching off our light Yue falls asleep quite quickly, while I lie awake staring into the darkness.

I don't want to fall asleep.

There's a fat chance I'll slip into endless, haunting nightmares.

However I'm already exhausted, and despite my fear of the nightmares awaiting me in my subconscious, I find myself drifting into slumber.

I'm standing in a hospital passageway. Cold white floors and walls reflect flickering luminescent light. Everything is silent, like an eerie buzz in my

ears. Nothing moves except for the flickering lights in the ceiling boards.

At the end of the corridor, a door stands open, leading into a pitch-black room.

My feet move me forwards without me wanting them too, my heart spasming in my chest and my stomach tightening into a ball.

I don't want to walk into the room, but I feel frozen in my own body, my mind screaming at me to run the other way while I'm carried forward

I enter the room, the door slamming closed behind me, leaving me in darkness, but I know I'm not alone.

There's an electric buzz as a light flickers on, shining down on a metal examination table. I feel cold down to my core, my eyes landing on the white sheet covering the definite shape of a human body.

I feel trapped, my feet carrying me towards the table.

Slowly, my hand raises to the head of the sheet, my lungs too petrified to take a breath as I reluctantly pull back the sheet, uncovering the white, blank face of my father. His skull is cracked open, the bone visible through the cut, but there is no blood. Just white and lifeless.

My heart drops in my chest, a sickness rising in me.

I look up as another light flickers on in the darkness, illuminating another sheet-covered body, this one smaller. With shaking hands I move around my father's table to the next, my hands pulling back the sheet to reveal my mother's face. The sick feelings inside me rising at the look of her stone-cold features. No smile. No warmth Just still and pale, like a marbled statue.

A third light flickers and I move to the third mental table, pulling back the sheet and exposing the lifeless broken face of Desna. I feel nauseated. Fourteen years old and gone.

My fault.

A fourth light shines down on a fourth table, this one holding a small body, the sheet far too big for it.

I know it's my sister. My little sister. I don't want to see her face. I don't want to see the gash from where the shard of glass pierced her right through her bone and into her brain.

However my feet carry me towards the fourth table, and my hands pull back the sheet.

"Eska," I whisper, my voice broken, my entire body shaking my heart snapping. Four years old.

All my fault.

I look back at the three tables behind me, sheets covering the lifeless corpses of my family, their eyes closed and their faces made of stone.

Then a fifth light flickers into existence. I hear it behind me. Slowly I turn, seeing a fifth mental examination standing out in the darkness. I walk forward, my heart beating rapidly with fear.

My shaky hand pulls back the white cloth, and I gasp, falling backward, staggering as the pain pierces through me.

"N-no," I whimper, my eyes locked on the lifeless face of Asami, her skin hard and white, her eyes shut.

Then they open, her glazed over eyes staring into me.

I sit up with a gasp, my body trembling and my chest heaving, my heart hammering in my chest.

I hug my knees to my chest, stinging tears slipping from my eyes, falling down my face which is already plastered in a cold sweat. I purse my lips to stop a cry from escaping them, the memories of Asami's cold and lifeless body still fresh in my mind.

Shakily I pull myself from my bed and grab my math book and pencil gaze, leaving my room quietly as to not wake my roommate, who still lies deep asleep, undisturbed by my night terrors.

I stop by at the bathroom to wash my face before I make my way down to the common room. It's only half-past twelve, meaning I only slept for two hours, but there's no way I'm going back to sleep now

The dorm house is silent, the common room empty. The year twelves have no curfew, and sometimes, especially during the weekends, some of the girls stay up till the early hours of the mornings studying or talking. However, there's school tomorrow, which explains why everyone has gone to bed.

The fire is still burning in the fireplace, embers glowing with warm comfort. I settle myself down on the floor and open my textbook, finding the hardest topic I can and then furthermore the most difficult sum.

I get to work, allowing the math to overtake my mind and chase the horrific pictures of my most recent nightmare out of my memories.

The sickening, nauseating feeling still ebbs away at my consciousness, eating like a virus at my stomach lining.

"Korra, sweetheart, it's nearly one am," Asami's soft voices pull me out of my world of numbers and symbols. I look over my shoulder to see the comforting image of my girlfriend leaning against the common room doorway, her white nightgown wrapped around her delicate figure, her arms hugging her midsection, and her hair up in a loose bun. Her eyes are still sleepy and her face is bare of makeup, indicating she just woke up.

I smile first, my heart warms in my chest to see her. Then it sinks, the memories of her on that examination table rushing back to me.

It was just a dream, I remind myself.

She seems to notice my distress and anxiety, because she frowns slightly, pushing herself off the doorframe and making her way between chairs and couches towards me.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" She asks gently, setting herself next to me and resting a hand on my thigh, her eyes searching me with concern.

"Nothing," I lie, forcing a reassuring smile, "I'm fine, just couldn't sleep."

"Baby," she sighs, "don't lie to me."

"I'm not," I say, trying to sound convincing," honestly I just couldn't sleep."

She watches me for a few seconds, trying to read my underlying expression.

"Nightmares?" She asks cautiously. I look away, turning my eyes to the glowing embers, my jaw clenching as I'm hit by another wave of unwanted images. By my reaction, she guesses her answer.

"The same one as always?" She presses, keeping her voice soft.

"No," I say quietly, "a new one."

"Do you want to tell me about it?" She says softly. I shake my head, clenching my jaw tighter to stop the pain in my heart from causing more tears to flow.

"Alright," She says gently. I move my head to rest on her shoulder, closing my eyes and allowing her conforming presence to wash over me. She kisses my forehead and draws patterns on the skin of my thigh, her touches calming me further.

"Did I wake you up?" I ask after a few minutes of comfortable silence in which my heart has loosened from its tightened state in my chest.

"No," she says, chuckling softly, "my spider senses alerted me that you needed me.”

I smile at that. Turning to look at her, drinking in her perfect features and her beautiful soft green eyes.

"You're doing math?" She asks, raising her eyebrows as she sees my open textbook and half-completed sum.

"Yeah," I smile sheepishly, "it clears my mind."

"Call me next time," she says, squeezing my leg, "you don't have to deal with this all by yourself."

"You need sleep, I'm not going to wake you every time I get a silly dream," I say lightly.

"You need sleep too, Korra," She says seriously, her tone still soft and caring.

We sit in silence for a bit, enjoying the warmth of the fire and the feeling of being alone together, both of us knowing we won't get a private moment together for a while.

I move my hand over and take hers, intertwining our fingers. She lets it happen, knowing I need her comfort, even though I know she's anxious about someone possibly walking in.

"Okay I'll go back to bed," I say, deciding the only way III convince her to get any sleep of her own is if I tell her to go back to sleep too.

"Are you going to be okay?" She asks, worry clearly swirling in her gaze.

"I'll be fine," I say, giving her a reassuring smile. She looks uncertain like she doesn't quite believe me, so I add, "I promise babe, I'll be okay."

"Please," She says, almost desperately, "wake me up if you need me."

"I will," I lie. I don't want her to worry. My problems aren't hers, and I don't want to burden her. I'm enough to deal with as it is.

I close my book and pull myself up onto my feet, taking my stuff with me and helping Asami up.

"Goodnight," I say, having to hold myself from kissing her. She smiles as if sensing and sharing my need to move forward and press my lips to hers.

"Goodnight Korra," she says softly, touching my arm gently.

I return to my bed, but it isn't until over two hours later that I fall asleep, eventually too tired to keep my eyes.

***

For the next days until Thursday, inclusive, school goes about normally. We get back into the rhythm of going to classes, doing homework, and sleeping when we can. The teachers resume the syllabus from where they left off before the Christmas break and soon things are as they usually are in Kyoshi Academy.

Asami and I don't get another moment alone together. Often she catches me watching her, between and during classes, and sometimes I catch her staring at me too. Occasionally we throw subtle smiles and longing looks at each other, but that's the most of it.

It's utter torture, having her tight in front of me yet I can't show any affection. It's infuriating that she's within arms reach yet I can't touch her.

I hate that I miss her kisses and her touches, especially when I could (not that I should or will) just walk over and kiss her.

I find myself missing simple things, like holding her hand or being able to lie with my head in her lap while she plays with my hair.

Classes with her are also near impossible to get through. She looks unbelievably sexy when she's got her reading glasses on, and it turns me on to infinity when she's in her teacher’s mode.

Right now it's Thursday, the last lesson, which happens to be English literature. Asami's handing back our essays which she has marked that we had to do over Christmas break.

"I have to say I am both impressed and disappointed by your essays," Asami's smooth, strict voice cuts through the air, her heels clicking as she walks between the rows of desks, handing back our marked essays, "some of you did exceptionally well, others, however, failed to understand the writer’s intentions and completely misjudged the purpose of the poem."

I adjust myself in my seat, the space between my legs tingling. The authority and firmness of her voice when she's in her teacher's mode is incredibly arousing, and it doesn't help that today she's wearing the outfit that never fails to completely turn me on. Her tight black pencil skirt shows every elegant curve, exposing her defined leg muscles from her six-inch black heels. Her white blouse is tucked in, showing her thin waist and leaving space for her sharp collar bones.

Oh, and of course she's wearing her new reading glasses. Great. My ovaries are going insane. 

What really makes it worse is that it's been four days since I felt a release from being under her touches. Yes, four days doesn't sound that long but I'm utterly addicted to her, I admit it.

She passes me, sliding my essay onto my desk, her hand subtly brushing my shoulder as she passes. My eyes glance at the big 96% at the corner of the paper, a little note saying 'Well done!! Very impressed, keep up the good work Korra.' A normal note from a teacher.

Soon Asami is back at the front of the classroom, resuming teaching. I can't focus on a thing she says, not when I'm having to squeeze my legs together to try to stop the craving sensation between them.

She is so beautiful. Not only that, she's so alluring, in her own intelligent, sophisticated, elegant way. I can't get the dirty images out my head, or the pictures of how she sounds when she's writhing under me at her peak

Her eyes don't meet mine anymore then they meet the other students, but I know she longs for me too. I know this is just as difficult for her as it is for me.

She gives us some classwork to do and takes a seat at her desk, pulling up a stack of papers for her to mark while we work.

I however can't work, not while I'm incredibly turned on.

A sly smile comes to my lips as a devious plan forms in my mind. I fish out my phone and open it, texting a message to Asami.

'My god, you look so fucking sexy today babe. It's driving me wild.' Send.

Her eyes flicker to her phone as it dings on her desk. She reaches over for it and puts it on vibrate, her eyes scanning the message on her screen. The corners of her lips twitch upwards into a subtle smirk, her eyes flickering to mine for a moment. She points at the work on my desk with a 'do your work' type of look on her face.

She resumes her marking. I type out another message.

'It's been far too long since I've felt you under me. I miss your moans. I miss the way you whisper my name when you cum. I miss how you feel around my fingers...' Send.

Her eyes flicker to her phone as it vibrates on her desk. I watch her as her gaze runs along the message, her grip on her pen tightening, her jaw clenching. She shifts in her seat.

Her eyes flicker up to mine, and I can see the lust I've initiated in her eyes.

"Korra," she says calmly, "I suggest you get off your phone and do your work."

"Apologies, Miss Sato," I say innocently. She shifts again in her chair, her eyes lingering on me hungrily for a few moments before she forces her attention on her papers.

I type out a third message.

'When I get the chance I am going to tease you so badly until you are begging me for it. Then I am going to fuck you so hard before I eat you out until you beg me to stop.' Send.

Her eyes move again to her lit-up phone. I watch her in satisfaction as she stiffens, growing more and more hungry with each word her eyes read. Her eyes move to mine, and I can see how dark they are. I simply wink.

Slowly she stands, walking around her desk until she reaches mine, each click of her heel sending shivers down my spine. Quickly I open my phone and find a picture I took a few nights ago, one where I'm fresh out of the shower and on my bed. I'm lying in such a way that no major private parts are showing, leaving just enough to the imagination

She holds out her hand, raising an eyebrow in an expectant, reprimanding way. I hand her the phone, smiling sweetly.

She walks away without another word, taking a seat at her desk again. I pick up a pen, biting on the end as I wait for her reaction when she sees the picture displayed on my phone screen.

She freezes as soon as she sees it, her breaths becoming deeper. She purses her lips and I watch as she closes her eyes, composing herself. She switches off my phone and places it to the side, her eyes finding mine. I smirk, feeling tremendously proud of myself for being able to drive her wild.

Other than the fact that I can tell I've succeeded in turning her on I can't really read her emotions. I send her one last sly wink and turn my eyes to my work. I feel her gaze linger on me lustfully for a few more moments before she finally turns her attention back to her own marking.

All the other students are completely oblivious to what just happened between their English literature teacher and a fellow student. All are too busy working to care.

Soon the lesson is over. The last lesson for the day. I remain in my seat as all the other girls pack their books and pencil cases away, leaving in haste to be free for the rest of the afternoon chattering in pairs or groups.

"You coming Korra?" Jinora asks, lingering by the door. My eyes are on Asami, who is still marking at her desk.

"I'll join you later," I say, giving Jinora a smile, "I've just got to get my phone back."

Jinora hesitates, her eyes flickering between Asami and me, but she nods and leaves. I wait impatiently for the last girl to leave the classroom. Still, Asami does not look up at me.

I rise from my seat and close the classroom door before I slowly make my way to my girlfriend’s desk. She puts her pen down and slowly looks up at me, her expression strict and serious, only aiding in making my already heated core even hotter.

"May I have my phone back, Miss Sato?" I ask, keeping my voice innocent and weak, knowing it will torture her even more.

"Clean the board," she says, her tone strict. I raise an eyebrow in surprise, feeling slightly confused at first, however, I hide my smirk and walk around to the board, picking up the duster. Asami's eyes follow me.

I gasp as I unexpectedly slam against the chalkboard, feeling her body pressed hard against mine from behind, both of her hands pinning mine against the board. I didn't even hear her get up from her chair.

"Don't you ever tease me like that again," I hear her growl huskily into my ear, her breath causing me to shiver, her voice deeper than normal.

"O-or what?" I challenge, my voice weak. I'm finding it hard to breathe when her body is pressed against mine like it is. One of her hands releases my wrist and trails down my side, earning a whimper from my lips. She slides her hand between me and the board, finding its way down and under my skirt.

"There is no or what," she growls, her hand riding my skirt up as it makes its way up my thigh. I feel myself begin to tremble, my lips parted and my breathing uneven, "do not tease me like that again, am I understood?"

"Y-yes," I stutter, unable to focus as her fingers find my underwear, brushing over them.

"Yes, what?" She purrs, her teeth biting my earlobe and tugging on it, her fingers beginning to run circles over my panties. I let out a moan, my eyes fluttering closed.

"Y-Yes Miss Sato," I whimper. She steps back, leaving me high and dry and panting. I turn to see that she's already returned to her seat, her pen in hand and resuming her marking as nothing happened.

I gather myself together for a few moments, staring at Asami in astonishment I've never seen that rough side of her before. Yes, she's been dominant with me, but she's never roll played and teased me like that.

She doesn't look at me, keeping her eyes on the work in front of her. I take a deep breath, gathering my thoughts. I'm far too riled up to walk out of this classroom without getting my way now, Asami made sure of that.

Slowly I walk to her desk and hop up onto it, sitting and facing her. Her eyes finally lift from her work and lock with mine, watching me with mild surprise and curiosity. Her eyes are still dark with lust, so I know it'll be fairly easy to seduce her.

Slowly I part my legs, my skirt riding up as I do so. Her eyes widen slightly, but I see the hunger grow in them as they dart down to the space between my legs.

Tauntingly I trail a hand to my knee before gently moving it up to my own thigh, riding my uniform even higher. Asami's jaw clenches, her knuckles becoming white as her grip on her pen tightens.

My hand reaches my underwear, and hesitantly I move my fingers under them. I smirk as I hear her groan, her gaze watching my movements as I slowly begin to circle my clit

She lets out a growl of frustration, moving startlingly (middy out of her chair and towards me, grabbing my thighs and hoisting them towards herself, earning a gasp from me as her hand moves mine out the way, moving my underwear to the side, her fingers finding my entrance and sliding into it without warning. However, I'm already wet enough for her.

Her other arm curls around my waist, pulling me closer to her and I wrap my arms around her neck. Desperately I kiss her, needing to be as close to her as possible. Her fingers move expertly, hitting me just right. I wrap my legs around her waist.

"Fuck I've missed you, baby," She whispers into my ear, before moving her lips to my neck. I close my eyes and tilt my head back, biting my lip and giving in to the incredible sensation building inside me.

"I've missed you too," I moan, my nails digging into her back.

"You have no idea how fucking sexy you are," she growls against my skin, her fingers picking up their pace, making me clutch onto her with more desperation, moving my mouth to her shoulder and biting into it to stop myself from making too much noise.

"Those messages drove me insane," she groans into my ear, "it's so hard to keep my hands off you."

"A-Asami," I whimper into the crook of her neck, feeling myself nearing the edge and struggling to hold on.

"Cum for me baby," she whispers, directing me to kiss her, curling her fingers even faster. I gasp and feel my body tense up and then release, my hips grinding against her, my legs shaking and trembling.

"That's it," she moans softly as I ride out my orgasm, her lips laying soft kisses over my cheeks.

After a minute she pulls her hand away and wraps both her arms around my body, holding me tightly to her as I clutch her body, my breathing still deep and my heart rate rapid, my mind a swirling mess as I recover.

Softly she kisses from my jaw to my mouth, and I respond by kissing her back. She draws away, resting her forehead on mine, her lips curled into a gentle, caring smile.

"I've wanted to do that to you all week," she says, and I can't help but laugh softly.

"And I've wanted you to do that to me all week," I say, kissing her again. As my lips nibble at hers I unwrap my legs from her waist and slowly move off her desk, pushing her back until she falls into her chair. She looks surprised, and her eyes widen as I get down on my knees in front of her, moving under her desk.

"Your turn, babe," I say huskily, winking.

"Korra-" She begins to protest, but I've already pulled her chair towards me, moving her skirt up to her hips and moving her legs apart.

"Korra!" She Squeals with half a laugh, half surprised and shocked. I grab her waist and pull her to the end of her chair, spreading her legs.

Before she can argue any further I've moved her thong to the side and sought out her clit with my tongue, causing her to gasp, her hands gripping the armrests of her chair.

I run my tongue through her folds, enjoying her soft whimpers and moans, loving her taste. Once again my tongue finds her clit, and I watch up from between her legs as she tosses her head back, her eyes fluttering closed and her back arching, one of her hands moving from the armrest and tangling her fingers in my hair, tugging slightly.

I apply more pressure, flicking and circling my tongue faster, earning more moans from her lips, her hand in my hair tugging harder and her knuckles from her other hand turning white.

My hands grip her thighs, keeping them steady as she begins to tremble, nearing her edge. I move my tongue faster, making her gasp and groan, her hips beginning to grind towards me desperately.

It doesn't take long for her to topple over the edge after that, her hand from the armrest moving to clamp her mouth, muffling the cry of my name, her nails scraping my scalp. I keep my mouth between her legs until she pulls me away, her thighs shaking and trembling, her chest heaving and her breaths labored.

I crawl up, straddling her, my hands cupping her jaw. I feel her arms slide around my waist weakly, and I smile down, my heart swelling in my chest with love as I watch her recover, her eyes still closed.

"Tuck babe," she whispers, her eyes fluttering open, looking at me with still a partly dazed look, "where did you learn to do that?"

I laugh and kiss her, allowing her to taste herself on my lips.

"I better get going," I say softly, pulling away from the kiss. She sighs and nods, reluctantly removing her arms. I get up and adjust my underwear and skirt, running a hand through my hair to fix it. She chuckles, fixing her own skirt and underwear.

"You look fine Korra," she muses.

I smile and roll my eyes. "Just fine?" I tease.

"Beautiful," She says, correcting herself, a soft look on her face. I blush, my heart racing.

"Korra, I mean it," she says, standing up and handing me my phone before raising a hand to caress my check "don't tease me like that again."

Her voice is gentle now, now that we've gotten rid of our pent up sexual desires.

"I kinda like how rough you get though," I smirk Her smile spreads across her face and she shakes her head at me. 

"It's torturous treating you like any other student," she sighs, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear, "it's near impossible to not kiss you, or hold your hand or keep you close when you're right in front of me. You teasing me makes it so much harder, and we need to be careful."

Her voice turns to a tone of plea, and I know it's because she doesn't want us to get caught. I feel slightly guilty, and I sigh, nodding slowly.

"I know," I say quietly, "it's hard for me too, but I promise I won't tease you like that again."

A soft smile comes to her lips, and her fingers brush the bottom of my chin to get me to look up at her.

"You can tease me as much as you like when we're in a place where I can do something about it," She chuckles, her finger raising to brush the tip of my nose, "but we can't do this sort of thing at school again... as fun as it was to fuck you on my desk, it was too risky" 

"It's sexy when you talk like that," I mutter after the last part. She chuckles.

"But I understand Asami," I say more seriously, "We'll be more careful."

"Thank you," She says, kissing me softly one last time before she spins me around and slaps my ass playfully, making me blush heavily, "now go! Be free!”

I pick up my bag on the way out, lingering by the door and staring back at Asami, who is leaning on the front of her desk, one hand by her face, her fingers tracing her lips as she watches me with twinkling eyes and a sly smile. I blush, unable to keep my own smile off my face.

I leave, my heart still beating fast with the rush of our classroom encounter.

"Hello Korra," I look up startled to see Mako walking into the library just as I'm about to leave.

"Good afternoon Mr. Fire," I greet with a polite smile.

"Is Miss Sato in her classroom?" He asks, his eyes scanning my face. I suddenly realize I must look rather flushed after what Asami and I did. Shit.

"Y-yes, I just came from there," I say, my heart panicking, even though I shouldn't have anything to worry about. The literature classroom has no windows, and the door was closed. There's no way anyone saw us. Plus, Mako would never suspect Asami would ever be with a student, would he?

"Ah good," he beams, "have you started working on your art portfolio for the finals?"

"Yes I have Sir," I say, feeling relieved that he doesn't look suspicious about anything.

"What theme have you chosen?" He asks.

"I've started with a hybrid between people and famous renaissance statues, done in a stippling style," I explain, earning a raised eyebrow from him, "I know, unusual. I wanted to be original"

"You never cease to surprise and impress me with your art Korra, I'm excited to see the pieces you come up with," he says eagerly.

"Thank you, sir," I laugh shyly. I'm still not good at taking compliments.

"I'll see you tomorrow in class," he says, holding up a poetry book, "I've got to return this to Asa-I mean Miss Sato."

"See you tomorrow Sir," I say before we go out separate ways.

"You were a while," I jump and turn to see Jinora leaning against the building wall outside the entrance of the library. Has she been waiting here this whole time?

She looks somewhat smug, her eyebrow raised in a knowing look.

"I-I," I stumble to try to find an excuse, feeling my face flushing from being caught off guard.

"I was getting my phone back,' I compose myself, holding my phone up. I start walking up to the dorm houses. Jinora joins me.

"For twenty minutes?" She asks smugly.

"She gave me a lecture on why I shouldn't use my phone in class," I lie.

"You know what I noticed," Jinora muses, "when you were sending messages in class, Miss Sato's phone binged. Might just be a coincidence but mmm I think not."

I stay quiet, unsure of what to say.

"And then you come out twenty minutes after class, looking flushed and glowing with a forming hickey on your neck," she smirks. I freeze, using my phone to check for the mark on my neck It's light, barely noticeable, but it's there non the less.

Shit.

"So Korra," Jinora says slowly, and I turn to look at her, feeling caught out, "is there something going on between you and our attractive English teacher?"

"No," I lie, turning, and resume walking.

"You told me last term that you thought you were falling in love with someone," she says, falling into pace next to me, "That you weren't sure if it was worth it because it was complicated and the other person has a lot to lose. Were you talking about Miss Sato?"

I continue walking, not knowing what to say. I feel panicked.

"Listen, dude, I'm not going to tell anyone. I like Miss Sato, and I like you. I don't want anything bad to happen to either of you," She says, catching my arm and stopping me, spinning me around to look at her, "so let me ask again, is there something going on between you two?"

She looks genuinely curious, and I know she cares. I trust her. She's a good friend. I sigh.

"Please, you cannot tell anyone," I say quietly, looking around. A wide smile breaks onto her face and she lets out a squealing noise, jumping up and down like a fangirl when they find out their favorite bad is coming to their city.

"Shhhh," I hiss, holding her shoulders and trying to calm her down.

"Sorry Sorry," she giggles.

"Omg really?? You're dating our teacher?!?" She whisper shouts, even though there isn't anyone in listening distance. I can't help but break a smile.

"Yeah," I say, unable to hide my own happiness. "Since when??" She says, eager to hear the details.

"Well, officially since Christmas," I say, smiling and butterflies erupting in my chest at the memory.

"You spent Christmas with her??" She asks with wide eyes. I nod. "And her whole family," I chuckle.

"Wow," is all she can say, "but how long have you guys been.. ya know, vibing?"

"Well, I guess Since Brighton," I say, again my heart fluttering at those memories down at the beach with Asami.

"Wait, so you didn't go to Brighton with your cousin you went with Miss Sato?!?" She exclaims, shocked. I nod, smirking at her surprise.

"I'm low-key mad you've been lying to me," she glares at me after a few moments.

"I couldn't tell anyone, Asami could lose her job and ruin her reputation if anyone found out. She could go to jail," I explain, "that's why I really mean it when I tell you Please don't tell anyone."

"I swear on my life I won't Korra, I understand," Jinora says seriously.

For the next few minutes, Jinora interrogates me on my relationship with Asami, asking questions about how long we've been going on, how it started, and things like that. I answer as vaguely as I can, wanting to respect Asami and keep our relationship private.

"I'm really happy for you Korra," Jinora finally says as we're nearing the dorm house, "you deserve happiness, and it sounds like you've found it with her."

I smile to myself.

It actually feels good to be able to share this beautiful aspect of my life with a friend. 

For once things are going perfect in my life. I have great friends, I'm doing well at school, a school that I'm actually happy in at that and I have the most beautiful, incredible woman in the world who's actually interested in me.

I sigh with content. I just hope that things stay perfect for a little while longer.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for not updating in such a long time, university was unbelievably busy. Hope you enjoy this update, Merry Christmas!

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Chapter 33  
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Asami's POV

"Hello Asami, long time no speak," My mother's voice answers the phone, "Why is that?"

"My apologies mother," I sigh, "I've been busy."

"Of course you have," she sings, her tone difficult to decipher; is she being sarcastic or not? I will never know.

"As you know," I say, deciding to get right into the reason I called, "it is my birthday on Sunday."

"Yes, it is, dear," she says, "twenty-six, almost thirty my darling. I suggest you put a ring on that fine young woman Korra. You won't be young and beautiful forever."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"Mother it is none of your business when I propose," I say, trying to remain calm, "but as I was saying, because it's my birthday, is it possible that I use the cottage this weekend? I'd like a little getaway with Korra."

"Of course my dear," she says, "you'll have to use the one near to Shepton Mallet, the other one is being rented out."

"That's fine, I wanted to use that one," I say, sighing with satisfaction, smiling slightly.

"How many nights do you want to use it for?" She asks.

"From Friday night through to Sunday afternoon," I say, and knowing her next question I add, "yes you and the rest of the family can come through for Sunday lunch."

"Wonderful," She says happily.

"Thank you, mom. See you on Sunday," I say.

"Love you Asami, have fun with that beautiful woman of yours," she says, and I smile, ending the call.

That beautiful woman of yours. Mine.

I feel like a child, unable to keep the butterflies from going crazy in my chest and the smile off my face whenever I think of that blue-eyed girlfriend of mine.

A shiver runs down my spine as I remember the incident in my classroom just a few hours ago. I smile slyly to myself, raising a finger to trace my lips. Even though I recently had a release I feel the desire for Korra’s touch aching through me.

I'm addicted to her. Utterly addicted.

It was hard to adjust from spending pretty every day of the Christmas break with her to having to treat her just like any of my other students. It's also been torture hearing her address me as Miss Sato, and I know she knows what it does to me when she calls me that.

I've been craving her affection and attention, and I've been craving to kiss her and hold her. This weekend will be good. I'll have her all to myself for two days.

***

I wait somewhat impatiently for my year 11s English class to leave their latest assignments on my desk and clear my classroom. My next period is free, and usually, I would work in the library or mark assignments and essays, but I need to go find Korra.

I exit the library and hug my coat around my waist, a cold wind biting at me. I look around the school grounds and spot a distant student sitting under the trees at the stone tables near the dining hall. I know it's Korra. Unlike anyone I know she likes the cold, and she's the only student I've seen over the past few days who's taken a liking to studying outside, even though it's negative three degrees.

I make my way over to her, smiling to myself at how adorable she looks in a beanie with a scarf wrapped around her neck, her cheeks rosy from the cold.

She looks up as I near her, the frost crunching under my footsteps. My heart warms at the sight of her eyes lighting up when she sees me, a smile automatically sliding onto her lips.

I take a seat across from her, having to hold myself back from greeting her with a kiss.

"Hello Miss Sato," she says, her eyes holding a knowing look as if she too is having to hold herself back from acting on her impulses.

"Hello Korra," I respond, ignoring the sensation sparked by her addressing me by my formal name.

"What can I do for you?" she asks casually. On closer inspection, I notice that she's got rings developing under her eyes. I feel concern growing in me. For the past week I've noticed her become more and more tired, her eyes often red and sometimes swollen. I know this means she's not getting much sleep, and whatever sleep she is getting is riddled with her nightmares.

"My mother has allowed me to use one of their cottages this weekend," I say, and an excited smile crawls across her expression.

"During dinner tonight sneak out through the orchid exit and find my car in the parking," I say quietly even though no one is in hearing distance, "leave your bag outside my room, I'll take it and meet you after dinner."

"A weekend away together?" she says, and I nod, sharing her smile.

"Just us," I say.

"I thought you couldn't get away this weekend?" she asks, frowning slightly.

"I made a plan," I shrug, "I want to spend time with you. Alone." Her eyes soften at my words.

"Well guess this means someone's going to be getting birthday sex," she winks slyly. I chuckle, my heart fluttering in my chest.

"So, I'll see you later, okay?" I say, standing. She nods, her blue eyes sparkling eagerly.

I walk away, back towards the library, feeling butterflies in my chest and smiling like a child on Christmas morning at the thoughts of this weekend.

***

I walk through the dark, my heeled boots crunching the gravel of the parking lot, raven's bag in my one hand my own bag over my shoulder. I open the trunk and chuck the bags in before getting in the driver’s seat and shutting my door. I lean over and kiss Korra, who's already sitting in the passenger seat. I had left the car open for her.

She smiles against my lips, her hand moving up to cup my jaw, her thumb brushing over the back of my hand.

"Hi baby," she whispers, her strawberry scented breath brushing my lips.

"Let's get out of here," she chuckles, and I smirk, leaning back into my seat and turning the key in the ignition.

"I'm sorry we have to sneak around like this," raven says sheepishly. I glance over at her as I turn out of Kyoshi Academy and onto the main road.

"You have nothing to be sorry about love," I say, moving my free hand over to rest on her thigh, "I knew we would have to sneak around and keep things quiet and secret when I decided to be with you."

"That's the first time you've called me that," she says softly. I glance over at her to see her cheeks are tinted. I smile.

"Is it okay?" I ask.

"I like it," she says, her hand finding mine on her thigh and lifting it to her lips before interlocking our fingers.

"I wish we could be openly together," Korra sighs.

"So do I," I say, giving her hand a squeeze, "it's just until you graduate, we'll figure something out after that."

For the rest of the hour's drive, we talk, and I feel myself relaxing. Being in Korra’s presence makes me feel calm, and content. I could sit and talk with her in this car on this lonely dark road for hours and never get bored.

Soon we arrive at the cottage and fetch out bags out of the trunk. I lead Korra up to the front door and search for the house key under a pot plant.

"Your parents just own this cottage?” Korra asks as I lead her inside.

“They have two cottages that they rent out," I explain, "as a way of making some extra money in their retirement."

We settle in, and Korra helps me build a fire before we both get under a blanket on the couch.

"This has always been a dream of mine," Korra says softly after a few minutes of comfortable silence, my fingers dancing through her hair.

"What has?" I ask. She tilts her head to look up at me.

"Cuddled up in front of a fire in a cottage with a beautiful woman," she says. I smile and lean down to kiss her tenderly.

"Would you like to watch a movie?" I ask. She shakes her head and snuggles deeper into me, burying her head in the crook of my neck.

"I'm happy here just like this," she whispers. I smile, my heartwarming in my chest.

"Alright my love," I say quietly, kissing her forehead and closing my eyes, enjoying the moment.

***

Korra’s POV

I'm standing at the entrance of a church It's empty and silent. There's a coffin under the cross. My heart feels solid in my chest, my lungs are frozen.

With shaking hands from terror, I take shaky steps forward. Slowly I walk up the aisle, towards the coffin, fear racing through me and making me sick.

Slowly I near the open coffin. Part of me knows what I'm going to see, but I can't stop myself either way from looking over into the coffin.

I gasp, tears stinging my eyes and my heart cracking. She lies still and lifeless, her arms crossed over her chest.

"You killed her," a voice speaks from behind me. I spin and stumble backward as my eyes land on my little sister, who stands in the aisle. Her eyes are misted over.

"No-no," I whisper, my voice cracking.

"Yes, you did, you killed her as you killed us," she says. I shake my head, my lip trembling and tears slipping down my cheeks.

"T-that's not true," I whisper.

"Everyone you love dies," another voice says, and I turn to see my brother standing to my left, his eyes too are misted over, his skin pale, "everyone around you ends up dead."

"Desna," I croak, my heartbreaking again, my knees becoming weak

"You killed her just like you killed us," another voice says and I turn to my right to see my mother, who looks just as lifeless as my siblings.

"M-mom," I cry, trying to move forward by just falling to my knees, my whole body trembling "mom I'm sorry-"

"It's your fault Korra," my father’s voice speaks out, and I turn to see him standing behind Eska, "it's all your fault. You killed us, and now you're going to kill Asami."

"N-no no-no," I whimper, curling into a ball and blocking my ears.

***

Asami's POV

"Korra?" I say, pulling myself into a sitting position as I quickly wake up to the sounds of Korra muttering and whimpering in her sleep, her body twisting in the sheets.

Quickly I pull her into my lap, my hands brushing her hair out her face and shaking her lightly.

"N-no no-no," she whimpers, her face twisting in pain. My heart breaks slightly.

"Shhh my love, it's just a dream," I hush, pulling her into me and holding her, rocking her gently, "I need you to wake up baby."

Her whimpers and groans subside, and she stops twisting and shaking. Her arms find their way around me as she clutches onto me, indicating that she's woken up.

I hold her tightly, rocking her back and forth and humming softly into her hair.

After several minutes she seems to have calmed down, and she pulls out of my arms. I watch her, unsure of what to do, as she pulls herself to the edge of the bed, pulling her knees to her chest and hugging them.

"What did you dream about?" I ask softly. She says nothing.

"Korra I'm concerned," I say gently, moving closer to her, "you’ve been getting nightmares often, I can see it by the rings forming under your eyes."

I reach out to touch her, but she finches away. I draw back my hand, feeling a little shocked at her reaction.

"Korra, sweetheart, I need you to talk to me," I speak gently but urgently, "I can't help you if you close yourself off from me."

"At least tell me what the nightmares are about," I plead, "are they the same as before?"

She shakes her head.

"Then what are they about?" I push.

"You," she says, her voice cracking. I feel surprised.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"I've been dreaming that you're dead. And my family are there too. They tell me I killed you. That everyone I love died. Everyone around me ends up dead and it's my fault," she says, her voice breaking slightly and her tone almost bitter, dripping with cold hurt and hate towards herself.

"Oh, baby..." I whisper, finally understanding why she's been so resistant to tell me.

"I can't lose you," she whispers, starting to shake again. I move forward and wrap my arms around her. She turns in my embrace and collapses into my chest.

"You're not going to lose me," I say, directing her to look at me, "what happened to your family was a tragic accident but it was NOT your fault, you need to understand that, and I'm not going to die, nor are you going to lose me, I'm right here. I’m not going anywhere."

She moves forward and kisses me, and I taste the salt from her tears on her lips.

I pull her back into the bed and under the covers, and I hold her tightly, listening intently to the sounds of her breathing to make sure she's okay. Soon she falls asleep, and I follow in pursuit, my thoughts tense with worry about the sleeping girl in my arms.

I wake at sunrise, Korra still deep asleep in my arms. I smile at how peaceful she looks. Carefully I untangle myself from her and sneak off the bed, pulling on my clothes as quietly as I can as too not to wake her. She needs all the sleep she can get; I can tell how exhausted she must be after so many nightmare-filled nights.

I leave a note telling her I'm going out to do a little grocery shopping, and if I'm not back by the time she wakes up there is coffee and milk downstairs.

By the time I return, Korra is awake wrapped in my nightgown and wearing a pair of slippers with her hands wrapped around a coffee mug while she stares absentmindedly out the kitchen window.

I smile and set the shopping bags down, alerting her of my presence. She turns and smiles as soon as she sees me.

"Good morning," I say, walking over and sliding my arms around her waist.

"Morning," she says, kissing me gently.

"Breakfast?" I offer, and she nods.

"It's beautiful here," she states as she returns to the window.

"Indeed, it is," I say, smiling softly as I pause making breakfast to admire Korra as she admires the view.

"When Mai was fifteen/sixteen I used to take her up here whenever she and my mother were having a fight," I tell her, "Iroh used to do the same with me when I always went through a rough patch with our mother.”

"There's a hike I want to take you on a little later," I add. Korra smiles.

"Sounds perfect," she says.

The day was perfect. After breakfast, we went on our hike and returned just in time for lunch. After lunch, I took her for a walk around town, showing her the tiny cinema and the run down arcade me and my siblings used to spend a lot of our time at. I also showed her the bakery where I got my first job at, and we even stayed for tea and cheesecake. We concluded the day by making dinner together and eating it while watching _The Dressmaker_ , a movie Korra insisted we find at the DVD store, and a movie that has immediately landed itself on my top ten favorite movie list.

I look up at Korra when I feel her eyes on me. We're sitting on the floor in front of the fire, she's drawing something on her sketch pad while I'm reading a book. I smile at the sky look tugging at the corner of her eyes.

"What?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"There's something I've always wanted to do..." she says in a soft and low tone, slowly setting down her notepad. I feel a shiver run down my spine. I know that tone and I'm very familiar with the dark, hungry look swirling in her eyes.

"And what might that be?" I ask quietly, setting my book down just as slowly, watching her crawl towards me.

"I've always wanted to make love in front of a fire," she purrs, straddling me.

"Well, now’s the perfect time," I whisper up at her slyly. She smirks and moves forward, kissing me deeply.

***

I wake to an empty bed, and when I look around for Korra I see a note on the bedside table. I reach forward and open it, recognizing Korra’s elegant, neat scrawl immediately.

_“I'm downstairs making breakfast. Go hop in the shower birthday girl xx”_

I smile. I had been dreading turning yet another year older but somehow it doesn't feel so bad.

I make my way to the bathroom, shedding my clothes as I do so, and switching on the shower. I let the water heat up before I step under the stream of warmth. I stand for a little while, enjoying the water running over my skin.

Suddenly I tense up, my breath catching in my throat as I feel a pair of arms slide around my waist

"It's just me," Korra whispers in my ear, and I relax into her, smiling.

"Happy birthday baby," she whispers, turning me around in her arms and kissing me.

Slowly she starts to push me back and I walk backward until I hit a wall. Her lips move from mine as she kisses down my jaw, her hands traveling to my sides, her fingers running over my skin and sending shivers all over my body.

I close my eyes in bliss, enjoying her lips on my neck, her hands brushing over my breasts, causing me to arch towards her and let out a soft moan as she pinches my nipple softly. I tangle my hands in her damp hair, moaning softly as I get lost in the lust, her lips laying soft kisses across my collar bone. Her hands capture mine and pin them against the wall, her mouth traveling down to my breasts.

She continues to kiss down my stomach after leaving multiple hickies over my chest. Her hands follow, tracing all over my body. She kisses my hips, her hands spreading my legs slightly and kissing slowly to my craving core.

"Korra..." I moan softly, my eyes fluttering closed and my head tilting upwards as her talented tongue goes to work, caressing me in all the nerve winding ways, building me up slowly, my hands running through her hair and tugging at her desperately.

"Oh baby," I gasp as I feel my body unravel under her, the incredible sensation rushing through my nerves and racing over me, making me see stars.

She kisses back up to my lips, her arms sliding around my waist to hold me up as my legs tremble, threatening to collapse.

She kisses me deeply, wasting no time and hoisting my one leg up and securing it around her waist, her one hand finding its way between our bodies and between my legs. I moan as she enters me, and bite my lip while she turns her lips back to my neck, her fingers sliding in and out, curling expertly, driving me crazy.

My nails dig into her back and bite her shoulder, my body writhing as if it’s on fire under her touches. It doesn't take long before I feel myself tumbling over the edge yet again.

She pulls her hand away and wraps it around my waist, holding me up and keeping me against her while our lips lock, the water running down our naked, entwined bodies.

"I'm going to go finish breakfast," she whispers against my lips once I've regained my strength to stand, my breathing returning to normal, "you finish your shower."

She kisses me one last time before drawing away from me.

I smile softly, watching her step out of the shower and wrap a towel around herself, lingering at the bathroom door to meet my gaze and return my smile.

I finish my shower and dress, making my way downstairs to the smell of waffles.

"Shower birthday sex followed by waffles? What did I do to deserve you," I sigh happily, walking in and hugging Korra from behind, kissing her shoulder.

"I saw a guitar in the lounge room?" she asks, turning in my arms and handing me a cup of tea.

"One of the guests must have left it here," I say, raising the tea to my lips and taking a sip.

"Can I use it?" she asks, turning back to the waffle machine.

"Of course," I say, a smile tingling on my lips. It’s been a little while since I've heard her sing.

She hands me a plate of beautifully displayed waffles with cream, fruit and maple syrup and leads me over to the table.

I chuckle and shake my head as I see 3 wrapped gifts in the center of the table.

“Babe you didn't have to-"

"Shh and eat your waffles," she interrupts me. I shut my mouth, but the smile still lingers.

"My family is coming over for a late lunch before we have to head back to school," I tell Korra and she nods. I notice the hint of sadness that creeps into her eyes.

"I wish this weekend didn't have to end," she sighs. I reach over the table and take her hand.

"I wish it didn't have to end either," I say softly.

"When next will we be able to spend time like this together?" she asks, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice.

"I'm not sure," I admit.

"Let's not worry about that," she decides, putting a smile on her face, "and enjoy the time we have left."

She pushes over one of the three gifts, one that I know must be a book. I smile and pluck it up into my hands. I pull the strings and draw back the soft paper, revealing a worn-down old book. I turn it in my hands, my eyes finding Jane Austen in bold.

"I found it on Amazon," Korra says as I open the front cover to see an elegant signature. I gasp.

"It's signed?!" I exclaim.

"You brought me a signed book from one of my favorite mathematicians for my birthday, I thought it fitting to get you a signed book of one of your favorite authors," she smiles softly.

"Thank you, babe," I say, feeling moved at her efforts. She pushes the next wrapped gift towards me, and by the thickness and shape, I can guess it's a canvas. I unwrap it and smile at the watercolored painting of the ocean, a dolphin leaping over a wave with a distant island in the background. The brush strokes are simple and subtle, yet they outline the image so perfectly.

"It's beautiful, thank you," I say softly, my finger tracing the outlines of the waves.

"The last one is a little cheesy," Korra says, and I look up to see her face heated and a sheepish look in her eyes. Curiously I pick up the third gift and unwrap it, several sheets of paper falling into my hands. I frown and examine the pages carefully, realizing that they're music sheets with notes written through the small lines, words written above them. Lyrics.

"I wrote the guitar piece a while ago, but I never had any inspiration for lyrics to go with it, not until I met you," she says. I feel speechless, a swell of emotions burning through my chest.

"I'm happy there's a guitar here, or I wouldn't have been able to play it for you," she says, and stands, holding out her hand. I take it, still in awe of the utterly incredible girl in front of me.

She leads me to the lounge and picks up the guitar against the wall in the corner, taking a seat and gesturing for me to sit down with her. I watch her, falling deeper and deeper for her as she tunes the strings, unaware of how beautiful she is. How can anyone be so perfect?

I've heard her sing before, but there's something different about the way she sings now. Her voice makes the hairs on my arms stand on end and sends pleasant shivers over my skin. Maybe it's because of the words flowing from her lips, or that she wrote these words for me, about me, but I find myself crying, and the overwhelming feeling of raw emotions overtaking me entirely.

It's only been just under two weeks since we started dating, but I can't even bother denying it. I love this girl.

My god, I really love this girl.

***

Korra’s POV

I finish the last cord and look up to Asami. I feel startled by the sight of tears running down her cheeks, her eyes holding a deep emotion I've never seen anyone look at me with before.

"You're crying," I state. Asami moves forward and pulls the guitar out of my arms and puts it to the side, straddling me and kissing me deeply, not sexually but desperately.

"I want you to record that and send it to me," she says against my lips. I smile and nod. She looks as if she's about to say something else, her eyes scanning mine. She seems to reconsider because she purses her lips and kisses me again instead.

We end up having sex in front of the fire. Again. Although I'm not sure if sex is the right word. Being with her so intimately feels so much more meaningful than any other time I've had sex. Every single one of her touches sets my body on fire. I feel like I'm high when I'm with her, everything feels a hundred times more intense.

Later on, her family, including her parents, siblings, and their spouses along with her niece and nephew, come over. Both Kuzon and Tom-Tom recognize me, and both seem thrilled to see me, running and giving me a hug. Hiroshi and Yasuko also greet me with beaming smiles, and to

Asami's mutters of protest Yasuko examines my left hand for any sign of a 'ring'.

Mai also pulled me aside after lunch to apologize for her cold and bitter attitude to me during Christmas, explaining she was just trying to look out for her sister and that she’s happy to see Asami so happy with someone.

By late afternoon, Asami and I leave for Kyoshi Academy, and by the time we reach the school grounds, it's dark.

"Thank you for such an amazing weekend babe," I say, turning to Asami as she parks. She turns to me, smiling softly.

"Thank you for making this birthday of mine far more enjoyable then I could've hoped," she says. I kiss her, lingering for a few moments, enjoying her soft lips and savoring them, knowing I won't have much of a chance to kiss her again for a while.


	34. Chapter 34

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 34  
\--  
Korra's POV

"So??!!" I look up at the sound of Jinora's voice. I'm sitting on one of the couches in the common room, busy reading through my French notes. Jinora plops down next to me.

"So what?" I ask. She rolls her eyes.

"How was your romantic getaway with our English teacher?" she asks, keeping her voice low.

Looking around to make sure we're not in earshot of anyone, “It was fine, can we not discuss this here?" I mutter under my breath.

"Fine, is all I get?" Jinora ignores me, "come on Korra, I have no romantic life. Tell me about the juicy details."

"I am not discussing my sex life with you Jinora," I snort through an amused smirk, shaking my head.

"At least tell me what she thought of your presents," she pushes.

"She liked them," I smile.

"And the song? What did she think of that?" she asks. I grin.

"She really liked it," I say, blushing at just the thought of how touched she looked yesterday morning when I played her the song I wrote, I add, "see you were wrong, it wasn't too cheesy."

"Oh, it was cheesy, she's just too in love with you to realize," Jinora smirks. My face burns.

"She is not in love with me," I mutter, my heart thudding like a rabbit's heart in my chest just at the thought.

"Really? She took you to meet her family for Christmas, brought you a fancy-ass necklace for Christmas and a signed book of that guy in the wheelchair that you like so much-"

"Stephan Hawking," I interrupt her.

"Yeah whatever back to my point, she also smuggled you out of school to spend a whole weekend with her. I mean she's risking everything to be with you. No one does that for just anyone. I mean she spent a whole term trying to keep her distance from you and look how that worked out. Miss Sato is a rational thinker, she's smart and wouldn't risk everything to be with a student," she continues.

She makes a lot of sense. I've thought about it a lot, how much Asami is putting on the line just to be with me. But the mere idea of a woman of such intelligence, beauty, and sophistication being in love with me sounds so preposterous. I'm just 18, emotional, still finishing school with my life far from planned and organized.

"What are y'all talking about?" we both turn to see Jin plopping herself down on a couch opposite us, Song joining her.

“Also where were you this weekend Korra? You were supposed to help us with Math but you disappeared," Song adds.

"Went home for the weekend, was a last-minute plan," I say quickly.

"That's a first, you never go home for the weekends,” Jin raises her eyebrow.

"You got someone in the city who you wanted to see?" teases Song. My flustered face as I try to come up with a better lie obviously gave both Jin and Song the wrong idea because both their eyes shoot open.

"Omg since when? Boy or girl? Is it serious?" they both fire their questions simultaneously.

"I-I don't-" I try to lie but both are far too convinced.

"Don't even try lying," snorts Jin.

"Is that what you two were talking about before we joined?" Song says, gesturing between Jinora and I, "Korra’s secret lover?"

"I don't have a secret lover-" I try again but once more I am interrupted.

"Is it a girl or a boy?" Song asks.

"It's a she," Jinora answers for me. I shoot her a glare.

"Omg, what's her name?" Jin asks excitedly.

"Oh look, Miss Sato," Song says, and I look up to see that Asami has entered the common room, Song waves her over, shouting, "Miss Sato come join us!"

And here I was thinking this situation couldn't get worse.

"Why have I been summoned?" Asami chuckles as she reaches our group, "what gossip have you girls got to entertain me with?"

"Korra apparently has a secret lover she won't tell us about," Jin explains. Asami stiffens slightly, her smile faltering and her eyes flickering to me, "we're trying to get the information out of her."

"For some reason, she won't tell us anything," Song says, turning her attention to me and looking at me with expecting eyes.

"Why are you two so nosy?" Jinora says, covering for me. I glance at Asami, who looks tense and worried.

"How come Jinora gets to know about your secret woman and we don't?" pouts Jin. Asami's eyes flicker between me and Jinora as if to ask if what Jin just said is true. I completely forgot to tell her that Jinora knows about us. Shit.

"I'll tell you guys when I'm ready okay?" I say, trying to sound calm and relaxed. Jin and Song look disappointed with my answer.

"Is it serious?" Jin asks. I don't respond and they take my answer as a yes.

"Aawwwww," both girls chime in unison. I glance at Asami and see she's less tense, a soft smile playing at her lips and her green eyes twinkling.

"Is our girl falling in loooovvvveeee," Song teases. I glance at Asami, a smile flickering to my lips.

"I don't know if I'm falling," I say, watching Asami's reaction as I say the next part, "or if I'm already in love."

Asami's smile falls and her eyes become hard to read, surprise and shock swimming in them. I tear my gaze away from her and pay attention to my friends who are squealing like children. My heart is racing a thousand miles an hour at the fact I just admitted that. Is Asami freaking out? Did I say that too soon? Will this scare her off?

Asami is called off to another group, and she pulls herself out of her initial shock and recovers, making her way over to the other group. I watch her leave, wishing I could read minds so I would know what’s going through hers right now

Jinora somehow turns the conversation from me to something else, and Yue joins the group. While the four of them talk I watch as Asami wanders from group to group, talking to all of the students, smiling and laughing, although often she looks over at me, and I can tell she's still thinking about what I said, her eyes desperate to talk to me alone.

I watch her head out of the common room, lingering at the entrance and fishing her phone out of her pocket. She types something out and I feel my phone vibrate. I open my phone and read the message on the screen.

Library, storage closet. Now 

I glance up but Asami has already vanished. I feel a bit nervous. I excuse myself from my friends and make my way out of the dorm house and into the dark of the night I make my way down the hill and to the library, which is dark but unlocked. I've spent enough time in here to not need light to find my way to the back storage cupboard.

"Asami?" I whisper. I squeal with surprise as I feel something yank me inside and the door closes. I'm welcomed with Asami's familiar soft, sweet-smelling perfume and I feel the familiar curves of her body as she pushes me up against the closet door, her hands pinning mine above my head and her lips crashing against mine. I smile into the kiss, relieved that she doesn't seem to be mad, upset, or angry.

"Did you mean that?" she asks between kisses.

"Yes," I say honestly. She pulls away. I squint as a lamp light goes on. My eyes adjust quickly.

"You're falling in love with me?" she speaks quietly, her tone serious, her eyes soft and filled with emotion.

"I know we've only been officially together for two weeks, but it feels so much longer. I've been falling for you since the day I met you. So, yes, I am falling in love with you," I say quietly. She pulls me into her and kisses me deeply again.

"You have no idea how happy it makes me hear you say that," she whispers, pulling back are resting her forehead on mine. I smile relief flooding through me. Her hand lifts to cup my face, her fingers gently caressing my skin, her eyes soft and warm, looking at me with pure adoration, indicating to me that I'm not the only one feeling this way.

"Does Jinora know?" Asami asks hesitantly.

"She figured it out," I admit, quickly adding, "I promise you, babe. I didn't tell her, and she won't tell anyone. I trust her."

Asami sighs, looking worried again and pursing her lips while furrowing her brows, something she often does if she's thinking.

"And no one else knows?" she inquires.

"No one else knows," I confirm in the most reassuring way possible.

"Okay," she sighs, her tone slightly less anxious.

"You better get back," she sighs after a little pause. I nod reluctantly.

"Hey," she says catching my arm just as I'm about to leave and spinning me back into her, "let's just focus on getting through the rest of your final school year, okay? After that, we'll figure something out. We won't have to sneak around like this and hide. I know you must hate not being able to tell your friends and lie to them. It won't always be like this."

"I know," I say with a small smile. She leans in and kisses the tip of my nose, brushing my cheeks with her fingers.

"Please call me if you have any nightmares tonight," she says before kissing me softly and tenderly on my lips.

I leave the storage closet and make my way back up to the dorm rooms, a skip in my step and tingles still radiating through me from where her fingers brushed my skin.

***

Mako Fire’s POV

Mako hummed to himself as he washed his paintbrushes, soaking them in turpentine. He felt at home in the studio, the smells of oil paints, wood, and varnish made his soul happy.

He enjoyed these moments where he was alone in the studio. He loved his students, but he also loved to be alone. It also gave him time to wander around and admire his student’s paintings and artworks.

It gave him great joy to see how some of his students progressed through the years, going from squiggly lines and stickmen to beautiful portraits and landscapes that he would even be impressed with if he saw them in a museum.

He walked around the studio, stopping here and there to flip through his year 12s portfolios to see their progress. He pauses when he came to Korra’s. She had left her sketch pad here, which wasn't unusual, most of the girls left their rough work sketch pads here for safekeeping.

Mako loved Korra’s work. She had this incredible ability to capture movement in her still work sketches, and to display incredible emotion in her portraits. She was good at painting and sketching. The girl was truly talented in the artistic side of things.

Mako hadn't yet seen Korra’s portfolio, nor her most recent sketches and designs. He remembered her telling him about her interesting plans for her theme for her year 12 final art project.

He picked up her sketchbook and flipped through it slowly, beaming at each rough sketch and design idea. They were all so original.

He slowed however when he came across a sketched portrait. It caught him by surprise. It was of a woman, naked, from behind. She was sitting on the edge of what seemed to be a bed, her back bare, and a sheet wrapped around her waist. Her head was turned ever so slightly, showing a part of her jaw and face, and her hair tumbled in perfect waves over her shoulder. The details were exquisite, and even though Mako was gay he could acknowledge that whoever the subject was in the drawing that she was a beautiful woman.

Mako frowned.

The woman in the drawing was familiar in her posture. He knew that jawline and body shape. He knew those perfect waves of hair. At least he thought he knew who the drawing was off, but that couldn't be, could it?

He slowly turned the page to the next sketch. This one was of a woman too, the same woman it seemed. This time she was standing and looking out a window at a view, her legs bare and only wearing an oversized shirt. This time her hair was in a loose bun, but by the shapes and muscle definition and posture Mako could tell this was another sketch of the same subject.

Slowly he turned the page and his suspicions were confirmed. This third sketch was of the same woman, only now he could see her face. She was sitting on the floor against a couch, looking relaxed and comfortable, a book in her hands.

Asami. The drawings were of Asami Sato. Slowly Mako turned back and forth between the three sketches. Why was Korra sketching Asami? And why in these situations? It was clear Korra had some sort of crush on her English teacher, there was no other reason as to why she would draw such explicit and detailed sketches of the woman. But had she drawn these out of her pure imagination? They seemed far too detailed and realistic to have not come from a physical image... 

Slowly Mako closed the sketchbook and set it down. Korra had obviously not meant for him to see those sketches, she wasn't stupid, she would know that Mako would question such sketches drawn about a teacher.

He knew it was not unusual for students to develop crushes or infatuation towards their teacher. He was well aware of several of his students having crushes on him. Asami was a very attractive woman, and he knew in a school of over 800 girls there would be at least a few who were lesbian, bisexual, or even pansexual, and it wasn't unexpected or surprising that those who did have attractions toward the same sex would develop crushes on Miss Sato.

Being a gay man himself, Mako could sense when other people were part of the LGBT+ community, and he had had that sense about Korra since the beginning. 

But this? Drawing explicit sketches of a teacher? Was that normal? Mako didn't think so.

Mako thought back to several months ago when he had taken Asami to that art exhibition when his partner had been out of town. Korra had been there too. He remembered how Asami had told him about how she and Korra had pretended to be together to get out of an awkward situation of Asami's mother trying to pair her up with a man.

Mako hadn't thought much about it then, but now, after seeing these sketches...

Asami had been a good friend to Mako. They had both started teaching at Kyoshi Academy at the same time. Both young and attractive. They had quickly formed a friendship, and Mako had even acted as Asami's 'boyfriend' and had been her beard for her at family events in order for her to worm her way out of being set up with someone by her mother. Asami in turn had been his date to several family events before he had met his partner and found the courage to come out to his family as gay.

He knew Asami. She was a smart, intelligent, rational, and reasonable woman. It seemed impossible that she would ever develop feelings towards a student, let alone get in a relationship with one. Mako shook his head. No, it was impossible. Asami knew better than that.

However, he knew he needed to be sure. He needed to make sure and be certain he could rule out any possibility of Asami and Korra being in a relationship.

He also knew he needed to do something about Korra. As beautiful as these sketches were, they were inappropriate.


	35. Chapter 35

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 35  
\--  
Korra's POV

Tuesday starts the same as always, and I follow the motions. Breakfast, French, free period, biology, lunch, math, and now art.

I like art, especially on Tuesdays when it's practical work.

I walk into the studio, smiling as the fresh smell of varnish and turpentine fills my nostrils. I make my way to my usual station and place my bag on the desk, looking for my sketch pad and not finding it. I frown. Did I possibly leave it in my dorm room?

I walk over to one of the main benches where we leave our portfolios and pick mine up. I freeze as soon as I spot my sketch pad on top of my portfolio.

Did I accidentally leave it here after my lesson yesterday? Shit.

I close my eyes for a moment and pray to whatever god might be up there that Mr. Fire did not look through it.

Over the weekend and even during last week I've been working on some sketches of Asami, mostly from memories of certain moments. In the first two sketches, you can't quite tell who the sketches are of, but in the last sketch, anyone could see that it's of Asami, and it would tie back to the previous two sketches.

I feel sick and anxious, finding it hard to think straight. If Mr. Fire saw those sketches, he would definitely have a few questions to ask me...

Shakily I take my sketch pad and portfolio back to my desk station and for the remainder of the lesson I continue with my latest piece for my project, however, I can't concentrate on my art.

I keep glancing at Mr. Fire as he wanders around the class assisting any students. I try to read his expressions and movements for some sort of indication that he did in fact see my sketches.

Class ends sooner than I expected, and I slowly pack up my things.

"Korra?" Mr. Fire calls out. Shit.

"Yes sir?" I respond as casually as I can.

"Stay behind for a few minutes please, I'd like to talk to you about something," he says, confirming my fears. Fuck. My heart sinks in my chest.

I take a seat and wait for the rest of the students to filter out the class. As soon as it’s just me and Mr. Fire, he slowly makes his way over to me, perching himself on a nearby desk. I feel nauseated with anxiety.

"I was flipping through your sketchbook and I came across some rather interesting sketches," he says slowly.

"Sir I can explain," I say, trying to remain calm and convincing, "the sketches were of models, friends in the city." He frowns.

"I was working on a new art project," I elaborate, trying to make the lie more believable.

"And the third one?" he asks.

"The one of Miss Sato?" I ask and then lie smoothly "it was just of her in the common room one night."

He looks relieved almost, yet still skeptical.

"So, the two sketches of the half-naked woman were not of Miss Sato?" he asks, watching for my reaction carefully.

"Of course not," I say, pretending to be appalled and shocked. He looks relieved, yet I can still see lingering doubt in his eyes.

"Well, as beautiful as those sketches were, I think it best you don't do such explicit drawings in a sketchbook where your teachers can find them," he says. I nod solemnly.

"I won't keep you any longer, I'm sure you have other classes to attend," Mr. Fire says, giving me a smile that I can't return. All I can do is stand and leave, my mind racing and my stomach twisting uncomfortably.

I can't believe I left my sketch pad. Now there's no doubt that Mr. Fire is at least a bit suspicious, and who knows where that might lead. What if he snoops around and figures out Asami and I are together? That we've slept together? What if he reports it to Misses Hou-Ting or the police?

I walk into English a few minutes late. Asami's eyes dart to mine and she pauses her teaching. I can see she's about to reprimand me for my tardiness, but immediately her eyes pick up that somethings wrong. She resumes teaching, her eyes lingering on me wearily as I take my seat.

I watch Asami throughout the lesson, not able to really pay attention to anything she's saying. I can't lose her. I can't be the reason her life gets ruined, or why she gets thrown in jail.

The class ends but I remain behind. I can see Asami is worried, but she hides it and waits casually, if not a tad impatiently, for the class to empty. She closes the classroom door.

"What's wrong?" she says, making her way over to me and scanning my face with concern.

"I fucked up," I say, feeling angry at myself all of a sudden, burying my face in my hands, "Oh god I fucked up." 

"Korra what do you mean?" she asks, growing more worried and her tone turning anxious.

"I drew some sketches of you, the first two didn't really show your face but the third one did. They were suggestive, not overly sexual but not something you'd expect a student to draw of their teacher," I explain, raising my head to look at Asami. Her face falls, sensing where I'm going with this. I continue, "I accidentally left the sketch pad in the art studio, and he must've looked through it and seen the sketches."

"Shit," she breathes out, sitting down slowly.

"He asked me about them, I told him the first two sketches weren't of you, I'm not sure he brought that lie completely," I say. I close my eyes and purse my lips, running a hand through my hair. You are such a fucking idiot. Why do you ruin everything good in your life?

"He can't know for sure, he might not even think much about it," Asami says slowly, processing the information and voice her thoughts, more for herself than for me. She turns to me and says, "babe it was an accident, don't beat yourself up over it okay? We've just got to be extremely careful now, alright?"

I nod, still feeling guilty to the core. If we get caught now it's my fault.

"Mako isn't one to jump to conclusions without evidence and proof," Asami says, trying to reassure me, "if he really thought something was up, he'd come to me and speak to me about it."

I nod and take a deep breath, trying to calm the anxiety of the possibility of losing Asami that is still gnawing at my insides.

"I'm sorry," I say quietly.

"Don't apologize," she says, reaching over and taking my hand, giving me a soft smile, "we'll figure this out, alright?"

I nod. She lets go of my hand quickly and rises, taking a few steps back at the sound of voices nears the classroom door. I quickly resume packing up my stuff. The door opens and the next class begins to file in.

***

Mako Fire’s POV

Mako watches Korra leave his studio. He can tell she's anxious, which means she's hiding something and worried he nearly caught her out on it.

He almost believed her lie that the woman in her sketches wasn't Asami, but the resemblance was impeccable. Plus, he saw the look of fear in her eyes when he asked her about those sketches. If she had nothing to hide, she wouldn't have been so flustered and worried.

But what was it she was hiding? That she had a crush on a teacher? Is that all it was or was there something more?

Mako ran a hand through his silky brown hair and over his face. Maybe he should talk to Asami about it, tell her about the sketches and his suspicion that Korra had a crush on her...

Something didn't feel right about this situation.

Mako used his free period to dean up his studio before making his way to Asami's English classroom, deciding that talking to her would be the best option. He waited for the year twelves to file out, his eyes scanning their faces for Korra, and frowning when he didn't spot her. He watched the classroom door close. Curiosity got the better of him and he made his way over to the closed door and listened intently for any sign of voices.

Sure enough, he heard two voices, both worried and concerned, one he recognized as Asami's and the other he knew was Korra’s. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but somehow, he knew what was being said.

He stepped back and to the side, feeling shocked and bewildered.

By the sound of their tones, he could only assume Korra had told Asami that he had seen her sketches. Why would Korra tell Asami that? Would that mean Asami already knew of Korra’s crush on her? But why would that in turn make Asami anxious?

Unless something else entirely was going on. But no, that couldn't be it, could it? 

Mako watches the next class file into Asami's class, followed by Korra, why still looked anxious, leave the classroom, too caught up in her own thoughts to notice Mako.

Asami had always been into older men and women, he knew that about her. She wouldn't go for someone nearly a decade younger than her, would she? Especially if that person was a student nonetheless.

Mako picked up his phone and went to his contacts. He still had Asami's mother's contact. He sometimes still spoke to her, Yasuko was a very sweet woman, would call him every now and then to check how he was doing and ask about his boyfriend.

His finger hesitated over the call button. Was he really going to do this? Speak to his friend’s mother before confronting her?

He hit call and raised the phone to his ear.

"Mako!" Yasuko answered his call within a few rings, "what a wonderful surprise!"

"Hello Yasuko," Mako greeted, "how are you?"

"I'm fabulous thank you sweetheart," she chimed, “and, how are you? To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"I just thought I'd phone in and say hi, it’s been a while since I've seen you," Mako said.

"Oh, you're such a darling," Yasuko chuckled, "I get more calls from you than I get from my own daughter!"

"Well she is very busy," Mako chuckled.

"Ahh I know," Yasuko sighed, "I imagine she'd rather spend time with her girlfriend when she isn't teaching."

Mako froze. "Girlfriend?" he asked.

"She hasn't told you? Strange," Yasuko said, surprised, "wonderful young lady, such a delight. I can't believe she hasn't told you!"

"She might have mentioned it," Mako said quietly, praying that Asami's girlfriend wasn't who he thought it might be.

"You'd really like her, her name’s Korra, she's also a bit of an artist from what I've heard," Yasuko said cheerfully, and Mako's heart dropped in his chest. He didn't listen to the rest of what Yasuko had to say. He couldn't believe it.

"I'm sorry Yasuko, I have to go," Mako said distractedly.

"Alright dear," Yasuko sang, "thank you for the call, it's always a delight to hear from you."

Mako hung up the phone and sat down heavily.

"Oh Asami..." he muttered under his breath, "what on earth are you doing..."

He ran his hand over his face, rubbing his beard.

Asami was a good person. He knew that. One of the kindest, considerate, caring people he knew. He did not want her to have her entire life ruined and end up in jail. She deserved a chance.

He sighed as he made a decision.

He knew what he needed to do.


	36. Chapter 36

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 36  
\--  
Mako Fire's POV

After the last period of the school day ended, Mako made his way to the library. He entered and made his way to the back classroom, knocking on the door and entering when no one answered. He looked around for Asami and saw nothing but an empty classroom.

He made his way to Asami's desk, deciding he'd wait for her to return. She probably went to the bathroom.

She had left her phone on her desk, and he noticed she had recently gotten a new, clear phone case. Her phone was face down on the desk, and he frowned as he spotted two small squares, possibly photos, in the case. He reached over and slid her phone out of the case, emptying the two phones into his palm and turning them face up.

Sure enough, both photos were of Asami and Korra, in a photo booth, looking very much like a couple.

"Mako…" Mako turned to see Asami in the entrance of her classroom. Her eyes moved to the photos in his hand. The realization sunk in her and slowly she closed the door.

***

Asami's POV

"Mako..." I say, and he turns. My eyes fall down to the photos in his hand, the ones from my phone case from the photo booth in Brighton. My heart sinks in my chest. He knows.

Slowly I close the door.

"What on earth were you thinking Asami..." Mako sighs, not sounding angry or disgusted, just disappointed.

"I don't know what to say," I say honestly.

"A student Asami?" he says in exasperation.

"I like her, Mako."

"Asami, it’s illegal," he sighs. I feel the tears forming. This is it. This is what I feared. I knew, deep down, that at some point this would happen. Someone would find out. I was foolish to think otherwise.

"I know," I say, taking a seat, my fingers finding my temple.

"Then why on earth did you think it would be a good idea to get into a relationship with her?!" he exclaims.

"I knew it wasn't a good idea, Mako," I snap, "it's far more complicated than that."

He sighs and runs a hand over his face, clearly thinking.

"Listen," he says after a pause, "I care about you, a lot. You're a good friend to me, who's been there for me through a lot. And I care about Korra, she's a talented student with a good heart and lots of potential. The last thing I want is for something bad to happen to either of you."

I look up, surprised. Yes, Mako is a friend and an understanding guy, but I was sure he would turn me in.

"However," he says. Ahh, there it is, the ‘however.’ He continues, "you've got to understand that I can't sit back and let this happen. It's not right, you know that. It's illegal and wrong. If things were under different circumstances, I'd be more than happy for you, but she's your student."

I nod. I understand where he's coming from.

"You need to end it with her," he says firmly, "break it off. If you don't, you leave me no choice but to go to Misses Hou-Ting, and I really don't want to do that."

"I understand," I say softly.

"Good," he says, setting my phone and the pictures down on my desk. He walks to the door, pausing to say, "I'm sorry Asami, I really am."

He leaves, closing the door behind him, leaving me alone. I let out a shaky breath, clutching the nearest desk for support as I purse my lips and shut my eyes to hold back any tears.

Shakily I make my way to my desk and sit down heavily. I reach over to the two photos, my fingers tracing them, feeling my heartbreak, a tear slipping from my eye and falling down my cheek slowly.

"This isn't the end," I tell myself quietly, wiping the tear away, "I'll figure this out, I'll figure this out"

***

"Korra?" I say, knocking on her room door. Yue opens the door.

"Hi Miss Sato," she smiles.

"Hello Yue," I greet back with a smile, "is Korra here?"

"Yes, I am," Korra says, and Yue opens the door, stepping aside. Korra sits up from her bed, her face falling as if sensing I'm not coming with good news.

"May I speak with Korra privately for a few minutes?" I ask Yue.

"Sure," she says, throwing Korra a puzzled look. She steps outside and closes the door.

I take a seat on Yue’s bed across from Korra, and she waits for me to speak.

"Mako knows," I say finally. Korra’s face pales. I continue, "I'm not sure how he figured it out, but he knows."

"Shit," she says, looking panicked, "w-what’s going to happen?"

"Nothing, as long as we break it off," I say, unable to meet her eyes, feeling the tear in my heart.

"W-what?" she breathes out, shocked and confused.

"He says he won't go to Misses Hou-Ting as long as we end it," I say, trying to keep the tears back. I need to be strong for both of us.

"Are... are we ending? Is that it, we're done?" she asks. I close my eyes and purse my lips, taking a deep breath to steady myself, pushing back the stabbing sensation in my chest

"Korra, if he goes to Hou-Ting she will call the police. I will go to jail. I will be convicted of sexual assault for sleeping with a minor," I say steadily.

"Okay," she takes a deep breath, "I understand, of course."

Her voice cracks. Of course, she understands, but that doesn't mean it's not breaking her heart just how it's breaking mine.

"I'll figure this out. This isn't the end, Korra," I say quietly, having to physically hold myself back from moving forward and kissing her. She nods, unable to look at me, and I can see how hard it is for her to stop herself from crying.

"I'm guessing we go back to how we were the last term," she says, keeping her voice as steady as she can, "keeping our distance and stuff."

"Yes," I say. She takes a deep breath.

"Okay," she whispers, "Is that all Miss Sato?"

"I'm sorry Korra," I say quietly as I get up and leave, trying to keep myself together all the way downstairs and to my room.

I shut my door and slide down it, finally letting the tears fall.

***

Korra’s POV

It's 2 a.m. and I'm sitting in front of the fire in the common room. Well, it's not really a fire anymore, but the coals are still burning red.

I can't sleep. I can't stop thinking about how this is all my fault. I shouldn't have sketched those drawings. I should have left them in my sketchbook. I shouldn’t have left my sketchbook where someone could find it.

If I hadn't done those things, then maybe everything would be fine. None of this would have happened. But because of me, Mr. Fire found out about Asami and me. It's because of me that Asami and I had to split.

I don't know what's going to happen. Asami said that it's not the end, that she'll figure something out, but maybe she's figured that this is for the best. Maybe she'll realize that I'm not worth all the trouble she'll get in. Maybe she'll realize how much better she can do than me.

I don't at all blame her for ending things, she didn't have another choice, but it still hurts like hell. I'm terrified that this is it, that the past two weeks was all I was ever going to get with Asami.

I bang my head, cursing myself for not being more careful.

I don't know how I'm going to cope in Asami's classes. I don't know how I'm going to be able to look at her without having my heart broken again.

***

A week later.

"Jin and Song are really concerned, you know," Jinora says, taking a seat across from me at the table I'm working at under the trees, "so is Yue."

“And?" I ask blandly. Jinora sighs.

"We're your friends, Korra, let us help you, you know? Cheer you, take you out, etc." she says. I don't respond.

"I know you're torn up over Asami, but there's literally nothing you can do," She says softly. Again, I remain quiet, doodling in the corner of my math textbook absent-mindedly.

"Yue is talking about auditioning for the talent show coming up," Jinora says, changing the topic.

"She thinks you should audition with her..." she adds. Still nothing.

"Maybe it'll take your mind off Asami? Music is healing, isn't it?" she says. I shrug.

"Okay, well give it a thought okay?" Jinora finally says, getting up slowly and leaving me to myself. I know she's just trying to help, and that she's worried about me. I've hardly eaten much this past week. I've also stopped hanging out with them, mostly keeping to myself.

Asami has to act okay, but I know she's hurting too and missing me.

As for Mr. Fire, I've spotted him watching me, looking a little guilty. I don't hate him, nor do I feel angry towards him. He did what he thought was the right thing. Really, I just appreciate he didn't go straight to Misses Hou-Ting.

I feel so helpless. I know it's best that I keep my distance from Asami, the last thing I want is for Mr. Fire to think we didn't actually break up and then go to the police. However, it's still frustrating not knowing what Asami's planning. She said she'll figure things out, but how?

Another frustrating thing is that I really should be studying. Finals are coming up, and even though I’m well prepared for math, English, literature, and art, I still need to be preparing myself for biology and French, but my mind had been such a busy place that I've really struggled to focus on anything.

Maybe I should audition with Yue for the talent show. It will offer a distraction, along with convincing my friends that I'm okay so that they can get off my back.

I pack all my books into my bag and make my way up to the dorm house. As I walk my hand subconsciously moves to fiddle with the pendant hanging around my neck. I haven't been able to take it off, even though it constantly reminds me of every single moment Asami and I shared over the holidays; our night together on Christmas eve, her telling me she wanted to try us on Christmas day, her asking me to be her girlfriend in the kitchen of her apartment...

Those memories make me feel both happy and cause a painful pang in my heart. I pray to the heavens that those memories won't be the only memories I’ll ever have of us.

"Hey," I say to Yue as I entire my dorm room.

"Hey," she says, smiling. I haven't been very verbal for the past seven days and I can tell she's surprised.

"So," I say, putting my bag on my desk and climbing onto my bed, crossing my legs, "the talent show is coming up and I was wondering if you wanted to audition? With me?"

Her face lights up.

"Seriously?" she says excitedly. I nod, smiling too now

"Omg yes! I was actually going to ask you the same thing!" she squeals.

For the next hour or so we talk about possible songs we could sing together and who would do what instrument and who would sing what part. Eventually, we settle on "Photograph" by Ed Sheeran, agreeing I’ll play guitar while Yue plays the piano. 

Immediately we start practicing, and Jinora was right. Music is healing. Especially Ed's music.

***

Friday night, auditions for the talent show.

"You nervous?" I whisper to Yue. She nods, gulping.

"Dude we've been practicing for hours this week. We rock. We've got this,” a bump her shoulder, giving her a small reassuring smile.

We're right after this coming up act. There have been two group dancing acts, one solo dance, one instrumental group of string instruments, a solo cello act, two martial arts acts, two solo singers, and a standup comedian. So far everyone has been incredibly talented, which surprises me. I thought high school talent shows were supposed to suck.

I glance over to the judges' table. Mr. Fire, Mr. Omashu, and Asami are the judges. My eyes linger on the beautiful raven-haired woman seated between the two men. Mr. Omashu says something to Asami and she laughs, sending butterflies in my chest into a frenzy, accompanied by the butterflies in my heart, which sinks, stinging as it does so. I tear my eyes away from her.

The only thing I'm nervous about is having to sing while Asami watches. To make things more difficult it's a love song. I hope I'm going to manage to keep things together and not start crying.

Soon it's us, and Yue and I make our way up onto the stage. Yue positions herself at the piano, adjusting the microphone. I pluck the guitar up and settle on the stool stationed near the piano.

My eyes glance up at the nearly completely full auditorium. The entire school is here, along with some parents. My gaze meets Asami's, and everything else fades away. I can see the sadness, lingering longing, in her soft green eyes.

Yue clears her throat, pulling me out of my trance and indicating that she’s ready to begin.

"And what might you ladies be doing for us tonight?” Mr. Omashu asks.

"We'll be singing 'Photograph,' by Ed Sheeran," I say, and ripples of sounds of approval echo quietly through the auditorium.

"Well ladies, whenever you're ready, take it away," Mr. Fire says.

I glance at Yue and she nods. I start strumming the first chords, and she joins in with the piano. She starts off with the first verse, and I join in at the first chorus, just singing backup vocals. Smoothly I take over with the lead voice, singing the second verse, Yue occasionally throwing in some backup vocals when needed. I can't help but meet Asami's gaze as I sing, not able to look away. She's all that matters in this room of over a thousand people.

She's all that matters in this entire world to me.

I'm grateful I manage to hold myself back from crying, even succeeding in stopping my voice crack as the result of the emotions surging through me as I see a lone tear slide silently down her cheek. She purses her lips to stop them from trembling.

We end the song, and the entire audience erupts into cheers and applause, jumping up into a standing ovation. I don't care about the applause. All I want is to rush forward and kiss her, tell her I love her, tell her how much I miss her.

Quickly, Asami wipes her face, and forces on a smile before giving her score out of 10 with the other two judges, three 10 out of 10s. Not that it matters much to me.

Yue and I return to our seats, everyone hugging and high-fiving us, telling us how amazing we were. I however just want to be alone, the image of that lone tear running down Asami's face repeating itself in my mind.

She's hurting just like me, and I hate it. I hate this whole situation. I hate myself for fucking up.

"Thank you so much to everyone who auditioned," Mr. Omashu says after the last act, "if it were up to me, I'd say all of you should perform in the talent show next Friday, however only 10 acts can go through. The 10 qualifying acts will be decided over the weekend by me, Mr. Fire, and Miss Sato and will be published on the noticeboard on Monday morning. Remember to buy your tickets for the talent show and invite all your friends and family! All the money will be donated to a nonprofit charity!"

Slowly we all stand, and everyone files out, everyone around me chattering excitedly about their favorite acts.

I peel away from my friends while they're detracted, making my way back to the dorm house, my heart and mind numb.

***

Asami's POV

I type in the last full stop and push myself away from my desk, feeling tremendously satisfied with myself.

After I was forced to break up with Korra, I needed to find something to distract me, something to help me deal with my feeling and emotions.

That something is writing. I did something I hadn't done in a while, I found my old works and unfinished novels and stories from years ago. I found one that stuck out to me more than the others, and I started writing again.

The story itself has allowed me to not concentrate entirely on Korra, although I still think about her constantly.

I'm still at a loss of what to do. I know, with every cell in my body, that I want to be with her. I cannot imagine loving anyone but her.

But our situation is complicated. Difficult.

Now that Mako knows of us, I can't risk doing anything but what he says. I am thankful that he didn't immediately go to the police, but I know if he catches us together again, he will turn me in. I can't risk that. If I'm in jail, there is no way I'll be able to be with Korra. Besides, Korra would never forgive herself if I ended up in jail. I know she'll blame herself.

I don't know what to do, and it frustrates me. The only thing I can think of is waiting until after Korra graduates. But even then, what if Kyoshi Academy or the authorities somehow finds out that Korra and I dated before she graduated?

Her audition with Yue for the talent show really hit me deeply tonight. It was like she was singing to me directly, and it broke my heart as I was reminded, she isn't mine anymore.

No, she is yours. And you're hers. just because you're being forced apart right now doesn't mean you don't love her, or that she doesn't love you

I move forward again and pull the newest, and last, a sheet of paper out of my typewriter. The typewriter Korra brought me.

I slide it under the stack of papers that contain the remainder of my now complete story. I smile.

And then my smile falters as an idea trickles into my thoughts. Slowly my finger traces the front page, the idea growing through my mind like ivy.


	37. Chapter 37

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 37  
\--  
Korra's POV

Yue and I made it onto the finalists' list for the talent show. I pretended to be just as excited as Yue, and I forced a smile for my friends.

Nothing really seems to matter. All I want is to be back in Asami's arms, curled up with her naked body pressed against mine under a blanket in front of a fire.

I spend days leading up to Friday studying, and when Yue and I have free time we practice our act for Friday. We decided to go with another Ed Sheeran song, and this time we picked “How Would You Feel.”

Other news is that I've decided I'm going to Edinburgh for mathematics. I want to tell Asami, but I'm not sure how.

I'm so nervous about the future. What is going to happen after I graduate? Will Asami and I get back together? And now that I'm going to Edinburgh, will she stay here? I don't expect her to move all the way and adjust her entire life just for me. Does she still want to be with me, or has she calculated that I'm not worth the risk and trouble anymore?

I can't imagine life without Asami. I can't picture myself living without her or being with anyone else. I never believed in soulmates, or 'the love of your life,’ but now I feel as if both are true.

I'm riddled with anger at myself, and guilt and regret. I was so foolish to leave those drawings in my sketchbooks. I was even more foolish to leave that sketchbook in Mr. Fire’s art classroom. I am such a fucking idiot. If I had just been more careful, none of this would have happened. I'd still be with Asami right now.

What's hurting the most is not talking to her. I hate not knowing how's she’s doing, or what's on her mind. I want to talk to her, but I know it's too risky. If Mr. Fire sees Asami and I talking, he might think we're still together, and the last thing I want is for him to go to the police or Misses Hou-Ting about our relationship.

My nightmares haunt me every night now, however now they are repeats of me losing Asami. I feel as though I should have taken them as a warning when I first started having them. Maybe they don't symbolize Asami’s death, but instead, me losing her.

"Hey," I glance up to see Jinora, who takes a seat across from me in front of the fire. It’s Friday morning, and I decided to bunk French. That teacher hates me, and I don't feel like dealing with her, especially in my state. I may just break down and cry, and that's the last thing I want, especially in front of an entire class. If there's one thing I hate more than crying, it’s crying in front of people.

I give Jinora a weak half-smile, which she sees right through.

"You know, I can always become your personal assassin, take out Mr. Fire for you," She says. I crack a smile, which in turn makes Jinora smile. She continues, "I won’t even charge you. The first job will be on the house."

"You think you can get away with murder?" I snort, raising an eyebrow.

"I've watched basically every crime show there is. I know every trick in the book. I'm basically a professional," She says, flicking her hair and dusting her shoulders. I chuckle and shake my head.

"Suurrreee," I say sarcastically.

"I'm offended by your lack of faith," she feigns hurt. I smile. Silence ensues, and my smile fades as I'm reminded of my situation, my mind drifting back to Asami. Jinora notices, and she sighs.

"How are you holding up?" She asks. I shrug. Jinora chews her lip. She's become aware that I don't open up and talk about my feelings, and she tries to respect that and not push, although I know it’s hard for her. All she wants is to be there for me and help me, and I wish I could. Maybe someday I'll learn to trust.

"Are you and Yue ready for tonight?" Jinora asks. "I think so," I say.

"Nervous?"

"Not really, to be honest," I say.

"I've overheard a lot of people saying that you two will win," Jinora says, trying to hold the conversation.

"I don't know about that," I say honestly. That girl with the cello was really amazing. Jinora studies me for a few seconds.

"Is there anything I can do?" Jinora asks softly. I give her a thankful smile.

"Don't worry about me," I try to reassure her, "I'll be fine."

The rest of the day passes by rather quickly, but eventfully. Kuvira asks me to the end of year dance, to which I decline, and unfortunately, Yue ends up in the medical school grounds clinic with a case of early bronchitis. She had a cough the night before but said it was nothing.

Turns out she was wrong and refusing to treat it earlier made it worse.

"What do you mean I can’t perform tonight???!!!" Yue exclaims at the nurse right before bursting into another painful sounding coughing fit.

"My dear, do you hear yourself? singing or doing any form of activity will only make you sicker. You are not leaving this bed," The nurse says firmly, giving the tearful Yue a final look over her glasses.

"But-" Yue tries.

"No buts," The nurse says, holding up a finger, "finals are right around the corner and you'll be very sorry if you have to right them with bronchitis."

"What's going on in here?" I turn at the awfully familiar sound of Asami's smooth angelic voice.

"Yue here has early stages of bronchitis," The nurse informs her, "I'm afraid I have to forbid her from singing in the talent show tonight."

"Oh dear," Asami says, turning to give Yue a pitiful look.

"Miss Sato I'm fine! I swear!" Yue pleads, turning to me and adding, "Korra tell them I'm fine!"

Asami glances at me, the tension between us oblivious to everyone else in the room.

I hold my hands up in surrender, throwing Yue an apologetic look.

"Please tell the nurse to release me," Yue begs. Asami chuckles.

"I'm afraid that I have no power in this situation, Yue, whatever the nurse says goes," Asami says, making her way over to Yue and gesturing for her to climb into the bed properly, which she does with some resistance, "I know how badly you wanted to perform this year but we can’t have you getting bronchitis, especially with finals around the corner."

Yue sighs with frustration, but collapses back into the bed, Asami pulling the blanket up around her. There’s a tug at my heart as I watch Asami’s caring actions, and how warmly mothering she looks as she tucks Yue in. Without meaning to I find myself picturing a similar situation where I watch Asami tuck our own kids into bed. I shake the fantasy out of my mind.

"Sorry Korra," Yue apologizes to me, coughing a bit.

"Don't apologize to me, you didn't get sick on purpose," I say, giving her a grim smile.

"You gonna be okay to sing on your own?" Yue asks.

"Of course," I reassure her.

"You better win for us," she threatens. I laugh.

"I'll try my best," I say. we both glance over at Asami at the sound of her phone ringing.

"Sorry girls, I've got to take this," she mumbles as she checks the screen, she touches Yue's hand and gives her one of her award-winning beautiful smiles, adding, "feel better sweetheart, stay warm."

I watch Asami leave the room, feeling a wash of sadness.

***

Asami's POV

"Hello?"

"Asami! I’ve been trying to reach you all morning!"

"So sorry, I've been teaching," I apologize, feeling both nervous and hopeful. By the sound of her voice, I can tell she’s in an excited mood, and hopefully, that means good news.

"I have excellent news!!!" She sings into the phone. I raise my knuckles to my mouth and bite on them both excitedly and anxiously.

"Well, don't leave me hanging," I say, my voice practically shaking.

"They want to publish it!" She squeals, "they want to meet you as soon as possible! They said they'd contact you on your email!" 

I gasp, covering my mouth with my hand.

"Well? say something dear!" She says and I realize I've been silent for several seconds, still in shock.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm processing," I say, and I start laughing, barely resisting the urge to scream and jump.

"I understand darling, this is big news! I see a bright future for you in the writing industry, and this novel is a perfect start," She says.

"Thank you so much, Katara, for everything, all your help, and guidance," I say, gratefully.

"My dear, I remember teaching you back when you were one of my students. even then I knew you were full of creativity. It’s my absolute pleasure to help you, and I was so touched you reached out to me for guidance," She says, and I smile, my heartwarming.

"In other news, I signed the resignation papers. As of next school year, I am no longer going to be a teacher," I sigh. 

"And how did Hou-Ting take that news?" Katara chuckles.

"Not too well. She offered me three different pay raises and tried to change my mind for an hour and a half," I say, "But I stood my ground."

"Honestly I'm so surprised that woman is still alive, let alone still running a school she must be a fossil by now," Katara mutters, and I laugh.

"So, what's your plan now?" Katara asks.

"Publish this book for starters," I say, my mind drifting to Korra, "do some more writing. I have enough money saved to support myself for a while. Hopefully, my writing career will kick off, otherwise, I'll figure something out."

"And Korra?" Katara asks cautiously. I bite my lip. Korra... We haven't spoken in two weeks. I've been too nervous to talk to her, the fear of Mako seeing and getting the wrong idea holds me back.

It’s been strange, not talking to her at all. not knowing how she's doing, or how she's feeling. I know she's not doing well; I can see in class. I know she blames herself and is beating herself up about it, and that's the last thing I want.

"I'm not sure," I answer Katara’s question.

"Alright dear," Katara says, "anyways, I have to go, my grandchildren are coming over in a few minutes. Call me if you need anything."

"Will do, have a good afternoon," I say. "Goodbye, darling."

I end the call and sigh, blissfully, a satisfied smile spreading itself onto my lips. Finally, it feels as though everything is falling into place.

I turn to see Korra walking out of the clinic, my smile faltering, my breathing staggering as my heart leaps before it falls. she pauses for a second, her gaze meeting mine before she tears her eyes away and continues walking. I purse my lips and close my eyes, feeling the familiar tearing in my heart as I have to hold myself back from chasing after her.

I so badly wish to pull her into my arms and kiss her. I want to tell her of my amazing news, tell her that I've resigned, tell her I'm so close to figuring this mess out and that she only needs to hold on for a little while longer.


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, I was supposed to release the rest of the chapters on New Years Eve, but they got deleted and I had to rewrite them.

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 38  
\--  
Asami's POV

I look through the crowd of chattering parents, siblings of students and the familiar faces of students, all here for the talent show, gathered in the foyer. My eyes find the back of my best friend and roommate and I make my way over to her. She spots me and her face lights up, flinging herself at me eagerly, giving me a tight bear hug.

She draws back from the embrace and holds me by the shoulders, studying me.

"How are you, Sami?" She asks.

"I'm okay," I say. she raises an eyebrow skeptically. I give her a reassuring smile. Opal and I have had several long phone calls these past two weeks, most of which involved me crying and breaking down about how useless and out of control I feel about my situation with Korra and Mako.

"Hello Asami," Bolin says from next to Opal.

"Hi Bolin," I say, turning to greet him.

"Where is that goddaughter of mine?" He says, looking around.

"Probably backstage with the rest of the contestants," I say, forcing a smile. Even thinking of Korra makes my heart ache.

"She doesn't know I came, I had a last minute meeting cancelation. Do you mind just telling her that I did manage to make it?" Bolin asks.

"Of course," I say, "I'll tell her to look out for you in the audience." 

"Thank you," He beams.

"I better get going," I say, touching Opal's hand and saying, "I'll come talk to you after the show, okay?"

She smiles and nods.

I make my way through the crowded foyer and to the auditorium and finally backstage. I spot Korra at the very end of the backstage prep mirrors, sitting in a chair with her guitar in her arms, plucking and strumming at the strings. I take a deep breath and make my way to her.

She glances up as I stop in front of her. There are several seconds of silence as l’m swept off my feet, momentarily forgetting why I came here in the first place.

"What can I do for you Miss Sato?" Korra asks casually, turning her gaze back to her guitar.

"Y-your godfather is here," I say, gathering myself together, "he wanted me to tell you to look out for him in the audience."

"Oh..." She says, awkwardly adding, "Thanks. For letting me know."

"Are you prepared?" I say, not wanting to end the conversation just yet. This is the first time in two painful weeks that we've had a face to face conversation, and as awkward as it is, it’s still something.

"I hope so," She says stiffly. The air is thick with excruciating awkwardness.

"Nervous?" I ask.

"Not really," she answers.

"And exams? Nervous for those?"

"I just want them to be over and done with honestly," She says. I chew the inside of my cheek, wondering if I should ask the real question begging to escape my tongue. She glances up at my silence.

"And how are you otherwise?" I ask, more softly, my tone turning gentler.

"How do you think I am?" She asks, also quietly. I see the pain and longing glistening in her eyes and I have to look down, my heart breaking slightly.

"I'm sorry," I say softly, wanting to say so much more but knowing it's too risky, especially because we're surrounded by other students and could easily be overheard.

"Anyways," Korra clears her throat, "I'll see you out there Miss Sato."

"Good luck Korra," I say quietly before I turn and force myself to walk away.

***

The Talent Show is an amazing turn out. The talent this year is incredible, the best I've seen in all my years at Kyoshi Academy. I'm going to miss this part of being a teacher, watching how far my students have progressed, how their confidence has grown and feeling so proud of the young women they've become.

I find it slightly ironic and poetic that Korra is the final act.

She walks out onto the stage, the audience erupting into an applause even before she starts singing. It's no secret that Korra has the voice of an angel, and the whole theatre seems to be bubbling with eager energy to see what she has in store.

I'm reminded of why I fell in love with her as she smiles at the audience's reaction, her cerulean eyes sparkling, her skin glowing in the stage lights.

"Good afternoon everyone," She speaks into the microphone as she adjusts it so she can sit on the stool, "Wow, what a turn out, I'm not at ALL intimidated." A ripple of laughter travels through the audience. I can't help but smile.

"My name’s Korra, and unfortunately I cannot be joined by my partner Yue tonight," She says, and there's a barely audible 'aww' of disappointment from the seats, "I know. But the show must go on." Another ripple of laughter at the reference.

"Anyways, I'll be singing How Would You Feel by Ed Sheeran," she says, and another loud applause erupts with yelps and shouts of approval and excitement.

My heart sinks, and a knot forms in my throat. She hasn't even started singing and I already feel as though I can't keep the tears at bay.

She waits for the clapping and noise to die down completely before she starts. It will never get old, watching how she captivates the entire room, raising hairs and causing goosebumps with her voice.

It’s more intimate then the auditions, now that she's alone on the stage. It feels like every word is directed at me, and as beautiful as the song is, I feel myself fighting harder and harder to not break down.

If the situation was different, if Korra and I weren't held apart by blackmail as we are, I might cry, but for different reasons. I'd cry because of how beautiful her voice is, and of how perfect the song is. I'd cry because my love for her overwhelms me. However now it just hurts. It frustrates me how out of reach she is, and that at any moment if Mako changes his mind, we could be truly torn apart for good.

Despite my best efforts I feel a tear slip, and I clasp my hands tightly as they shake. Luckily everyone's eyes are on the stage and no one notices my tears, no one except Korra, and I swear I notice a slight shake in her voice as she finishes the final lyrics.

The entire theatre raises to their feet, a standing ovation. I take the time to wipe away the tear and straighten myself out, gathering my emotions and forcing a smile.

The other judges all give her a ten out of ten and of course, I do too. Making her the winner of this year's talent show. Second place is the girl with the solo cello act and third place is awarded to a girl with the standup comedian act.

Everyone makes their way back to the foyer, for tea, coffee, snacks and socializing. As much as I wish to disappear and avoid a social setting I force myself to join them, finding Opal and Bolin again.

"That was a lot more entertaining than I thought it would be," Opal admits to me, an expression of surprise on her face, "and Korra was incredible.. holy shit that girl can sing."

"She is full of talent, I'm so proud of her," Bolin beams, looking around for Korra. His face lights up as he lays eyes on her.

She joins and Bolin gives her a big hug, drawing her away at arms length afterwards and studying her.

"Well done out there my girl!" He says. She smiles.

"Thank you," she says before throwing a smile of greeting at Opal, and not even throwing me a glance. It must be hard for her to look at me, especially if she's missing me to the extent I'm missing her.

"Mr. Earth!" We all turn at the sound of Mako's voice. I wince. Great. As if this interaction couldn’t get any more awkward.

"Mr. Fire! How are you?" Bolin exclaims, shaking Mako's hand, utterly obviously to why the three women around him hate the man he's so eagerly greeting.

"I'm splendid thank you," Mako smiles, turning to Korra and saying, "just thought I'd come here and congratulate Korra here for winning first place!"

"Thank you sir," Korra says through a forced smile.

"Hello Opal, long time no see," Mako directs at the red head, who wastes no energy in hiding her despise and instead looks him up and down with a look of pure disgust before turning and walking her way, heading towards the coffee table. I purse my lips to hide my laugh.

"What was that about?" Bolin frowns after his girlfriend, glancing at Mako with a raised eyebrow. Mako glances at me, and assumes Opal must be aware of mine and Korra's situation, and of being blackmailed apart by him.

"No idea," Mako says calmly, sipping the drink in his hand.

"Oh yes!" Bolin suddenly exclaims, as if remembering something, "before i forget, I have an idea to propose to the both of you."

I glance at Korra as Bolin gestures between us. I frown slightly. **_What could this be about?_ **

"So Opal and I are getting quite serious as you both know, and she's thinking of moving in soon. Considering you and her are roommates, it would mean the whole renting fee would fall on you, and that's a little unreasonable considering you live on campus here most of the time," he starts explaining, and I feel a knot form in my throat. I think I know where this is going. 

Bolin continues, "so I was thinking why doesn't Korra move in with you? You could split the rent, and I mean it might be a bit awkward while Korra is still at school but I mean she's graduating soon, and she'll need a place to stay in the city when she's studying."

Mako’s eyes bore into me. Shit. And here I was thinking this situation could not get worse.

I almost want to laugh. If Korra and I were still together this would be a perfect idea. We could live together, and Opal could move on and live with Bolin. It would be a perfect exchange. However given the current circumstances, it's comical.

"I-I don't think that's a good idea," Korra starts, eyeing Mako as he stares at me intently, with the **_'we need to talk in private'_ **look on his face.

"Just think about it okay? Opal didn't seem to think it would be a good idea but in my eyes it works out perfectly," Bolin insists.

"I think right now is not the best time to talk about this," I smile politely, "maybe after Korra graduates."

"Okay okay," Bolin says, raising his hands and backing down, "just give it some thought, alright?"

Mako excuses himself and makes his way through the crowd towards the exit. I know he wants me to follow, so excuse myself too.

I find him standing and staring at the stars out on the grass. I walk to stand next to him.

"What was that about?" he asks.

"Nothing, Mako," I say.

"Are you still with her?" he asks.

"No. I broke up with her. Like you said," I say coldly.

"Does her godfather know?" he asks.

"Of course not."

"But Opal does?"

"She's my best friend," I say simply.

"What did she have to say about it?" he asks.

"She was surprised but happy for me," I say. There's a bit of a silence.

"I'm not doing this to hurt you, Asami," he says. I grit my teeth and say nothing.

"I'm doing this for your own good," He continues after a few seconds, "she's far too young for you. She still has all her university days ahead. Nevermind the fact that she's your student."

I purse my lips and my hands turn into fists. I can not believe I once considered this man my friend.

"I heard you resigned," he says after a pause. "You heard correctly," I state.

"You didn't have to do that," He says.

"I wanted to," I say.

"You shouldn't be making such big decisions, like resigning your job, over her. She's just a girl," He says.

"I didn't resign for her," I snap, "I did it for me."

"But you love teaching."

"I do," I admit, "but teaching was never my dream. You know that."

"So you're going to do what, write?" he scoffs. I meet his gaze with a cold look.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that," he says.

"I broke up with Korra. We've kept our distances. I've done everything you asked," I say cooly, "now if you don't mind, keep out of my business."

With that I walk away, and he lets me.


	39. Chapter 39

\--- --- ---  
Chapter 39  
\--  
Korra's POV

*****Three weeks after the talent show. Exams and classes have ended. It's Saturday, and they’re having their end of year dance to celebrate the end of school. 4 days until graduation*****

I'm thankful it's warm again, otherwise I'd be freezing. We all would, in our dresses. I'm standing quietly in my circle of friends, all

accompanied by their dates. I'm the only one who came alone, much to Song and Kori’s disapproval. Both tried to pair me up with one of their boyfriends’ friends, but I insisted and with Jinora's help, managed to wiggle my way out of being set up with anyone.

I sip my punch and look around. It's strange to see all the familiar faces of the students in my year out of their uniforms and in designer dresses, their hair done up and their faces covered in makeup that make them all look years older.

My eyes are looking for someone in particular. I haven't seen her yet tonight. I know she's one of the teachers chaperoning, so she should be here. Somewhere.

The last time I spoke to her was backstage at the talent show. That was three weeks ago.

I'm wearing a blue dress. Not dramatic blue, soft blue. Song and Kori picked it out for me, with white high heels. They have a better fashion sense than I do, so I trusted them.

Jinora did my makeup and Yue did my hair, so for the most part I sat back and let them do all the hard work.

Everyone is laughing, smiling and overall rather bubbly and excited. To some extent I share their happiness. After all, I've practically finished school. Graduation is in a few days and then University starts in a few months. But the main point is school is over.

Song is chattering about how excited she is to move to the US  together with her boyfriend to study at NYU, Kori is talking about going to culinary school in France, Jinora is discussing her plans for studying in Canada to Yue who’s off to study in Washington. Like me, they're all eager to move on to the next step in life, with more freedom.

I look up as Jinora nudges me.

"What?" I ask her. I notice her eyes are looking over my shoulder, so I turn, my eyes landing on Asami.

As always, and to no surprise, she looks breathtaking. Her raven hair, in perfect waves falls over one shoulder. Her white dress makes her skin glow, and her legs look athletically sculpted from her heels. She's not wearing much makeup, mostly because she doesn't need it, not that anyone needs it, but there's little about Asami that could possibly be perfected.

"You okay?" Jinora whispers to me, pulling me out of my haze.

"Y-yeah," I say breathlessly, throwing her a small reassuring smile. She gives me a slightly skeptical look but says nothing.

I turn my gaze back to Asami and watch her walk around, greeting all her students and making small talk, along with greeting the other teachers on chaperoning duty. My heart flutters in my chest at every small movement she does, like how she tilts her head back when she laughs, her dimples forming at the corners of her lips.

You can't blame me for not being able to tear my gaze from her. She stands out to me in the crowd like a full moon on a dark night.

Eventually her eyes move up and lock with mine. For a moment her smile falls, but it forms again, her gentle brown eyes softening. She excuses herself from the group she was standing amongst. She maintains eye contact with me as she walks across the floor assigned for dancing later on.

I get a flash of deja vu, remembering how she walked towards me months ago at the art exhibition.

I step away from my friends subtly and watch as Asami nears me, my heart pounding in my chest. She comes to a stop in front of me, her smile creeping across her face.  I've always loved her smile. 

"Hi," I breathe out.

"Hello," She laughs softly, glancing down, a light and hardly noticeable blush on her cheeks. She knows how in awe I am of her. Shit, is it that obvious?

"You look beautiful," I say quietly, so that only she can hear. Her eyes sparkle.

"So do you," She says softly. I melt a little inside and I have to remind myself of where we are and that I can't jump forward and kiss her.

I glance around, looking for Mr. Fire. 

"He's not here," Asami says.

"What?" I ask, snapping my eyes back to her.

"Mako isn't here," She says, "he is picking up his fiancé from the airport"

"Oh," is all I can say. What does this mean?

She laughs softly again and bites her lip, shaking her head slightly. I catch my breath as she steps forward and moves to speak in my ear.

"Come to my room at 1 a.m.," She whispers, her breath igniting goosebumps. Her hand brushes mine, making my skin tingle from where she touches. She draws back.

Slowly she steps backwards, keeping my gaze before she peels off and walks over to greet the next cluster of students.

I remind myself to breathe and I look around to see if anyone noticed what just happened, but it seems like no one did, except Jinora. Slowly an uncontrollable smile creeps onto my lips, and for the first time in a while true happiness and excitement spreads through me.

"What was that about?" I turn at Jinora's question. She notices the wide smile on my face and raises an eyebrow.

"She wants to talk later, after the dance," I say. 

"About what?" Jinora asks.

"Not sure yet," I shrug. Before Jinora can ask anymore questions, her attention is called for by Yue.

My eyes find Asami again, and a smile flickers to my lips again. I raise a hand to my lips and I trace them, my heart beating far too fast.

Her room... be alone with her for the first time in over a month. Finally I'll be able to talk to her, tell her everything I've wanted to these past few weeks. And I'll be able to kiss her. And touch her.

My eyes find a clock and I let out a frustrated groan. It's only 8:30 p.m. Four and a half hours.

And of course it happens to be the slowest passing four and a half hours I've ever experienced. Every five minutes feels like half an hour.

Song and Kori sneak off with their dates at some point to drink the vodka they snuck in flasks. Jinora also sneaks off at some point to hook up with her date, and Yue and I spend most of the night dancing and looking after our tipsy friends. The dance is enjoyable, and I might've had more fun if I wasn't so focused on the ticking clock on the  wall.

I've been craving Asami's touch, not only her touch in a sexual sense, but how I feel when she tucks a stray hair behind my ear, or how she caresses my face when she kisses me and how her fingers feel between mine.

My skin crawls with anxious anticipation that grows stronger as time nears l a.m.

Throughout the night Asami and I occasionally catch each other staring and hold a shared longing gaze before we both break away, hiding smiles. I can tell by the look in her eyes that she too is eager for time to pass. Her eyes shine with the same hunger that burns me.

Finally at about 11:30, the music stops and the chaperons take control, herding all the dates out to their cars and rides in the parking lot before chasing the girls back to their dorm houses. I help Jinora get the still tipsy Song and Kori into their beds. Jinora also heads off to bed, and I make my way to my room. As soon as I walk in, I find Yue passed out in her bed. After hours of dancing I don't blame her for feeling exhausted.

I check the time and see it's 12:30 a.m., so I lie down on my bed, my stomach twisting with butterflies that in just thirty minutes I'll hopefully be falling into bed, tangled and naked with Asami. That's if that's what she wants.

My heart falls at that thought. What if she just wants to talk? What if she wants to tell me she's over me? Or that she realizes I'm not worth it?

No. That can't be it. She was smiling. Excited. I saw the longing look in her eyes.

Finally, l a.m. rolls around and I sneak out the room and down the staircase. The dorm house is for the most part silent, and anyone else still awake doesn't notice me as I sneak down the stairs and down the passageway that leads to Asami's room.

I knock lightly and the door opens immediately. She pulls me in and shuts the door in one fluid movement, locking it before she shoves me up against it, crashing her lips onto mine. I fall into the kiss instantly, kissing her back with a shared passion, my eyes closing and my hands moving up to cup her face as her hands grip my waist, flushing herself against me. My heart sings, and I let out a bliss filled moan. I've missed this.

"Oh god I've missed you," She whispers against my lips between kisses, her hand sneaking up my shirt and pushing it up, the feeling of her hand on my bare skin sending tingles over my body.

"I've missed you too," I whisper back, feeling myself tremble. She pulls back and rests her forehead against mine, raising a hand and letting the tips of her fingers trace my jaw.

"I'm sorry I haven't spoken to you," She says, "trust me, I wanted too, so badly-"

"Asami, it's okay," I interrupt her, pressing a finger to her lips, "I wanted to talk to you too, but I knew it was too risky. If Mako even thought for a second you hadn't broken up with me, he would've gone to Hou-Ting, or the police."

"You looked incredible tonight," She whispers with a gentle smile, "so beautiful..."

I blush, which only makes her smile widen, her eyes glistening slyly.

She moves forward and kisses the corner of my mouth softly, her talented hands trailing up my sides.

"Did anyone see you come here?" She whispers in that low seductive voice of hers, her lips placing tauntingly soft kisses to my jaw. I feel myself shiver as I lose control under her.

"N-no," I stutter, "I was very careful."

"And Yue? Will she notice your absence anytime soon?” She breathes into my ear, kissing under it.

"S-she’s passed out from exhaustion," I manage, squeezing her shoulders and my eyes fluttering closed as her lips turn to my neck.

"Good," She growls, and I let out a soft moan as she scrapes her teeth across my skin ever so gently. I follow her lead as she directs me away from the door and towards her bed.

She pushes me down onto her mattress and straddles me, directing me to kiss her, and I do so gladly. her hands find the hem of my shirt and tug it up. I raise my arms to allow her to pull my shirt off before I move my hands to pull her shirt off. She pushes me down and returns to kissing me deeply, tapping my bottom lip between her teeth and tugging, causing me to arch upwards and moan.

"We need to be quiet," She whispers into my ear before she bites my earlobe playfully.

"And here I was thinking of all the ways I could make you scream," I mutter before flipping us around so I'm on top, making her gasp in surprise.

"Did you touch yourself these past few weeks?" I whisper against her lips between kisses as one of my hands trails to her breast, running my thumb over her already erect nipple. She whimpers, wrapping her legs around my waist and pulling me closer.

"Y-yes," She admits.

"Did you think of me?" I murmur as I kiss down her neck. She tangles her hands in my hair and tugs lightly, moaning again, the sound firing me up even more. I missed that sound more than I thought.

"Every time," She breathes out before moving a hand to cover her mouth as I turn my mouth to her breasts, flicking my tongue over her nipple and sucking softly.

I trail my hand down her stomach, brushing her skin and loving how she shivers against my touch, how her heart beats so fast I can hear it, and how her chest rises and falls, her breaths shallow and uneven.

I move my lips across her chest and to her other breast as my fingers find her weak spot in her hip and press into it, make her gasp and squirm slightly. I leave a hickey on her breasts as my fingers find their way under her underwear, finding her bundle of nerves and applying light pressure. She whimpers and grinds her hips upwards, obviously desperate for more friction.

Slowly I rub her clit, driving her crazy as I kiss down her stomach, smiling to myself as I watch her bite her lip and toss her head back onto the pillow, her hands taking fistfuls of the sheets. 

I tug her underwear off and toss them to the side before I hold her legs open and turn my mouth to the place she wants me to pay attention too. My tongue works slowly, teasing her as I savor her taste and the sound of her desperately suppressed moans.

As I apply more pressure and target her clit she squirms more under me, her legs shaking and she has to turn her head to the side and bite the pillow. Watching and feeling her orgasm under me is both the most purely raw and satisfying feeling I've ever experienced.

As she gasps for air, her body shaking and trembling, I kiss back up to her lips, my hands memorizing every curve and corner of her body. She's still in a haze as I kiss her, but she kisses me back as best she can. She wraps her arms around me and holds me close to her. I close my eyes and allow myself to get lost in her arms, burying my face in the crook of her shoulder and neck.

I smile as her delicate fingers trace my naked back, her finger tips drawing absentminded patterns. I draw back and meet her soft brown eyes. We stare at each other for a while, not saying anything, both comfortable in the silence between us.

"I'm going to Edinburgh," I say softly. She needs to know. She nods slowly, processing the information as her fingers dance up my arm and across my shoulder to my neck.

"Mathematics?" She asks and I nod. She smiles. "Are you excited?" She asks.

"Yes and no," I say after a few moments of contemplation. She cocks her head and waits for me to elaborate.

"I don't.. want to end us, and I feel if I move we'll have to end..." I say finally. I turn my head slightly to kiss the palm of her hand as she cups my face.

"Well..." She says slowly, a smile underlining her expression, and frown, wondering how she could possibly be smiling even when knowing we may have to split when I go to university.

"Well what?" I ask.

"I have news too," She says, hardly managing to maintain her excitement.

"Is it to do with you resigning?" I ask.

“You heard about that?" She asks, surprised.

"There were rumors," I say, "are they true?"

She nods, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"But that's not the only news," she says, pursing her smiling lips.

"Well, tell me," I say, tickling her sides to try to get it out of her, "stop prolonging it, spit it out!"

She laughs and tries to wiggle out my grasp.

"I'm publishing a book!" She bursts out amidst her laughter. I freeze, mid tickle.

I sit up, and she sits up with me, studying my reaction.

"I wanted to tell you," She says, "but I couldn't. Not with Mako watching our every move..."

"You're publishing a book?" I ask, the information finally sinking in. A smile creeps onto her lips as she nods. I practically lunge at her, kissing her roughly, and she laughs against my lips, sliding her arms around my waist.

"That's fucking amazing!" I yell, and she has to clasp her hand over my mouth and hushing me, reminding me of where we are.

"Sorry," I chuckle, removing her hand from my mouth, "I'm so fucking happy for you babe, 1 know this has always been your dream... can I read it? What's it about?"

She laughs at my excitement, pulling me onto her lap so I'm straddling her.

"I'll give you a copy to read," She says, snaking her arms around my waist, "But what's more important is that in a couple of days we'll both be done with this school, which means we can be together. Publicly. And..."

She trails off, chewing her lip and looking a little nervous about whatever else she wants to say. I wait for her to continue.

"...and, if you want,  I  can move with you. To Edinburgh." My mouth drops open at her words.

"Y-you would do that? For me?" I stutter, completely flabbergasted.

"I have nothing left here. No job tying me down, I can continue my writing from anywhere in the world," She says, before adding in a soft yet serious voice, "Plus, my love, there's very little I wouldn't do for you."

All I can do is kiss her, any vocabulary I have is utterly useless in forming sentences that could possibly vocalize and explain the intense feeling of happiness and love I feel.

"I love you," I whisper, desperate for her to hear me.

"I love you too," She whispers, "more then you will ever know."

She falls back and I follow her, allowing her to turn to my body, showing her love through her fingertips and lips as our bodies become more entangled in her sheets.

  
  
  



	40. Chapter 40

\--- --- ---  
Epilogue  
\--

Korra sighed with bliss as she stepped out of the train station and into the cold, yet somehow refreshing air of the mid winter season.

She turned up her collar and tightened her scarf, shoving her hands into her coat pockets and made her way across the street, dodging cars, and arrived safely on the opposite pavements.

She took a moment to look at the shop in front of her up and down, her heart racing with excitement and her stomach doing flips from her nerves.

She was terrified. But she was sure. She had never been so sure of something in her life.

And it made her excited.

She took a deep breath and pushed forward, entering the store and stepping into the warmth.

"Hello dear," a man beamed at her as  she entered, "can I help you?" A smile  crawled onto Korra's Face.

"Yes," she said, "you most definitely can"

***

"And who shall I be signing this too?" Asami asked,  for probably the  hundredth time in the past hour.

"Hope," the young man says, excitedly, "she absolutely loved your book, she'll freak out that I actually got her new favorite author to sign it."

Asami smiled. An honest smile, she didn't need to fake it. It made her infinitely happy to know people enjoyed her novel.

"Thank you so much," The young man said, taking the now signed book from Asami's hands and moving to the side as the next fan stepped forward, blushing heavily, clearly crushing on the beautiful ravenette who sat behind the meet-and-greet desk.

Asami continued to greet people, take pictures and sign books. As happy as it made her to connect to her readers on a more physical level it also exhausted her. She didn't know being an author to an award winning novel would get her so much fame.

She had only published her book a year and a half ago when she moved here to Edinburgh with Korra, but her book had flown with success from the first day it hit the shelves. It took off like an eagle in the wind, impressing critics and earning hundreds of delightful praises in magazines, news papers, radio stations and even talk shows on television.

Since then, Asami had made appearances in many talk shows, traveling everywhere in the UK to do book signings and interviews. The money had come flowing in pretty quickly, but it had never been about the money. Asami felt happy. Finally she had followed her dream. She had become an author, and she had started a burning fire to write more.

As for Korra, she had supported her with everything. She had been a sturdy pillar when Asami felt overwhelmed. Korra had held her up when Asami felt as if it all were too much. She had been so patient and so loving. She had been perfect, and Asami had fallen even deeper in love with the younger woman every day, as impossible as she thought that was.

Even though Korra was ever so busy with her first and now second year of university, she always somehow managed to make time to be there for Asami, and Asami appreciated and loved her for it.

Finally, after three hours the last of the fans disappeared, and the book store closed.

"Thank you so much again, Miss Sato," the store owner said, approaching the now rather tired blonde. She was exceedingly grateful. The book signing had brought her more business then she'd ever received.

"Of course," Asami beamed at the woman, shaking her hand, "and please, Asami is fine. Being a teacher for three years really got me sick  of hearing  **_Miss Sato."_ **

The woman chuckled.

"Ah Asami, yet another book signing done," her manager said, walking in and handing her a coffee, which she accepted eagerly, "just a few more in New York, Washington, Seattle, Houston and Miami then you're done." **  
**Asami winced. Even listening to her travel plans made her want to run away and hide.

"So sorry," a voice spoke out, making both Asami and her manager turn to source out the owner, "I know the book signing has ended, but I got caught up. Would you mind terribly if I just got a quick signature? I’m such a fan."

Asami hid her smile, her heart skipping at the sight of her girlfriend leaning against the entrance to the bookstore, her blue eyes twinkling as she stared lovingly at Asami. **  
**Asami's manager chuckled and turned his attention to the bookstore owner, deciding to give the two lovers some privacy.

Korra pushed herself off the doorframe and made her way over to the signing table as Asami took her place behind the table, picking up a book and uncapping her pen, deciding to run with the playful role play. "And who might I be signing this for?" She asked.

"Oh, my girlfriend," Korra said, going along with it Asami chuckled but got writing.

"Girlfriend huh? She must be a lucky girl," she said.

"Oh god no, I'm the lucky one," Korra said, making the ravenette blush and give her a sly look. Korra hesitated before continuing, "Yeah, she's absolutely amazing. I mean out of this world. So intelligent, it blows my mind. And oh my, she's beautiful, on the inside and out. Most beautiful person out there I'm telling you."

"Is that so?" Asami mused, her heart racing at the younger woman's words. Korra never failed to sweep her off her feet.

"Yeah," Korra nodded, in a matter of fact kind of way, slowly  continuing, "I'm actually going to make it official." Asami froze, stopping her writing mid sentence.

"You see, I can't picture myself living another day without her," Korra said, her voice growing soft and low, her eyes watching the raven-haired beauty, who raised her head slowly, the shock still clear in her stiff features, "there is not a thing I wouldn't do for her. I can't describe it, but she means more to me than anything else. I love her more than I ever thought possible."

Asami's heart had stopped, but now it started racing, thudding harder than it had ever before.

Slowly Korra pulled a small black box from her coat pocket, and played with it in her fingers, trying to maintain her cool.

"So I went out and I got this ring..." She continued casually, opening the box and setting it on the table, "because I want to make sure she knows she will be always, and I mean  _ always,  _ be the only one for me. And I want her to know that I will always be hers. I want to spend every second of the rest of my life till the day I die with her. I will support her, love her, respect her and cherish her with every fiber of my being."

The book and pen dropped from Asami's hands as the realization finally sunk in. Her hand moved to her mouth and she let out a shaky gasp. It felt like her insides were spasming, and she had no idea what to think. The feelings rushing inside her were too overwhelming.

"Asami," Korra spoke softly, "say something.."

Asami couldn't speak, tears of pure joy were forming in her eyes, her chest shuddered with gasps of happiness, a shaky laugh fell from her lips. Korra took this as a good sign and smiled, her own tears forming.

"Korra.." Asami breathed shakily, finally getting her voice back, her trembling hand picking up the box, her eyes taking in the gorgeously designed silver band scattered in diamonds, "oh god baby..."

She was crying fully now, shaking uncontrollably, her emotions over riding her body.

"Is... is that a yes?" Korra asked through a tearful laugh.

"Yes!" Asami cried out, moving around the table, "oh god yes!"

Korra laughed, the happiness inside her making her want to fall to her knees, but she moved to embrace Asami with full force, wrapping her arms tightly around the woman's waist as Asami cupped her face and kissed her with a deep passion only lovers could understand.

"Are you sure baby?" Asami whispered between passionate, desperate kisses.

"I've never been so sure of anything until now," Korra whispered back, pulling Asami's body even tighter into her, never wanting to let go.

"I love you," Asami whispered, kissing Korra softly, "fuck I love you so much..."

"I love you too," Korra whispered against Asami’s lips, her hand taking the black box from where it lay on the table, pulling the ring out and taking her girlfriend’s left hand.

Asami's soft emerald eyes watched Korra with glistening, indescribable affection as she slid the ring onto her ring-finger. A perfect fit.

"My mother is going to be overjoyed," Asami let out a laugh, admiring the ring for a few moments before sliding her arms around her lovers waist, pulling her close to her.

"And you?" Korra asked cautiously, "are you happy?"

"Am I happy?" Asami laughed, "Korra, my love, I have no words to describe how happy I am."

Korra beamed, relief washing over her. She snaked her arms around Asami's waist, lacing her fingers at the small of her back. She rested her forehead on Asami's, sighing with content.

"I was so nervous," Korra admitted with a chuckle, closing her eyes.

"How long have you wanted to ask me?" Asami asked curiously, drawing back and searching the younger woman's face inquisitively.

"Honestly?" Korra said, thinking about it for a moment. "for over a year... I was just too terrified it wasn't what you wanted."

"I always thought I'd be the one to ask," Asami laughed softly, raising a hand to brush a stray strand of hair out of the hypnotic pair of cerulean eyes, "I was just waiting until you were done with your undergrad, I thought you might want to live a little before getting tied down."

"Marrying you won't stop me from living," Korra laughed, "I may only be twenty but I know what I want, I've known for a long time. Marriage doesn't stop you from being free, I can live and travel and do crazy new things, I just know that I want to do them with you by my side, as my wife."

Asami smiled, her heart falling even deeper in love with the woman in front of her as her fingers caressed Korra's jaw and cheek.

"Your wife," Asami purred, enjoying the sound of that tremendously, "my wife... mmm... I like the sound of that..."

Korra laughed, shaking her head lightly before leaning in to connect their lips yet again.

Drawing back Korra paused and rested the tip of her nose against Asami's.

"You told me once that I'll find a home when I accept love again," Korra said softly, "I accept your love and I've found my home. You."

"I love you, Korra Waters," Asami whispered, her lips brushing Korra's.

"And I love you, Asami Sato," Korra whispered back, sealing their love with a kiss.

THE END


End file.
